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Mesfoe Classics 





=== T H E = 

Story 



OF 



Father 
Van den 
Broek 




Class IB V 

Book_ L V^-C.4- 
GopyrightN 

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 




Rev. TheO. J. Van den Broek 



5ty? ffiakestte Bstxta of lEngltHtj Skautnga 
The Story of 

Father Van den Broek, o. P. 



A Study of Holland and the Story of 
the Early Settlement of Wisconsin 




CHICAGO 

AINSWORTH & COMPANY 
1907 






Two Copies Received 

APR 5 1907 

/i Copyright Entry 

OUSS A XXe„ No. 
COPY B. 



Copyright, 1907, 

BY 

Ainsworth & Company. 






TO THE 

Rt. Rev. Joseph J. Fox, D. D. 

First Bishop, Born, Reared, and Consecrated 

in Green Bay, 

A. Descendant of One of the Honorable 

Pioneers of Wisconsin, 

This Little Book is Respectfully Dedicated by 

the Author 



PREFACE 

To perpetuate the memory and life long labors of a great 
and noble man is the object of this little work. That Father 
Van den Broek 's name should not be lost in oblivion, nor he, 
like Moses, lie buried in an unknown grave, we think no 
apology is necessary for presenting his biography to the 
public. 

The story of Father Van den Broek relates to the early 
missionary work of the pioneer priests of the Central West 
among the Indians'and first settlers in the Ohio Valley, and 
the story of the settlement and growth of the "Catholic 
church in the Fox River Valley. It would seem from the 
ethical and religious points of view that if pupils could only 
learn thoroughly that these early missionaries were men of 
broad culture and liberal views, of most refined character and 
of thorough education it would be well worth while to have 
them study such a book as this. 

It will be noted that the early missionaries were not 
always men only of zeal and of no social position. Such 
men as Father Van den Broek, Father Gallitzin and 
hundreds of others, were men of large means for their time, 
hence their sacrifice of wealth, civilization, and home is 
surely worth our consideration. 

M. A. 
■ March 19, 1907. 



CONTENTS 

I Theodore J. Van den Broek. g 

II Father Van den-Broek's Native Land ... 21 

III Amsterdam 31 

IV Father Van den Broek's Missionary 

Labors in America 39 

V Father Van den Broek Visits Holland . . 73 

Questions 85 

Notes 87 



THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 

A lover of nature will find in Wisconsin — the 
Badger State — every beautiful scene that could 
gladden the eye, or that heart could desire. Take a 
trip on the North-Western R. R. from the extreme 
southern boundary to Marinette and the endless 
shifting scenes of natural beauty never grow weari- 
some. We behold stretches of woodland rich in the 
gorgeous tints of summer, undulating prairies and 
uplands gleaming with stubble, hills that well deserve 
the name of mounds, velvety emerald meadows ; 
and up along the Fox River valley the wonderfully 
grand traces of the Glacial period. 

The writer has in mind a drive in an open carriage, 
one summer evening in August, from Kaukauna to 
Little Chute. The day had been extremely 'sultry, 
but as the sun approached the western horizon a 
gentle, grateful breeze sprang up, which was intensified 
by the brisk trot of the horse over a delightfully 
undulating road. The distance was only two miles, 
but the drive left memories never to be forgotten. 
When about half way we saw the church, then the 
village expanded before our view. 

Little Chute, a post village of Outagamie County, 
lies on the Fox River. It numbers about fourteen 
hundred ' souls, all descendants of Hollanders, cvho 



IO THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 

settled there in 1848. Although over half a century 
has passed since their occupation of Little Chute they 
still possess all the characteristics of the Dutch: — 
Clean to severity, and to the land of their adoption, a 
loyalty second to none. A sturdy, frugal, God-fearing 
and law abiding people. 

The cynosure of the village is the beautiful church 
which has been enlarged and frescoed by the present 
zealous pastor, Rev. Theodore J. Knegtel. It has, 
also, beautifully stained glass windows, a chime of 
bells, and a striking clock tower, making it one of 
the finest churches in the diocese of Green Bay. 

The church is a treasure to the pious congregation, 
not on account of its beauty alone, but on account 
of a still greater treasure reposing within its richly 
decorated walls— the sainted remains of a worthy 
son of St. Dominic, Rev. Theodore John Van den 
Broek, O. P., who founded the parish in 1833 — at 
which time it was composed mostly of Indians. 

God's flowers bloom in every soil and in every clime. 
There are many who flourish in the luxury of God's 
love from childhood to the grave without apparent 
let or hindrance; there are others again, who have 
to struggle for conquest against the machinations of 
the Evil One amid boulders of trouble that would 
crush the hearts of many, less courageous, neverthe- 
less they conquer and die heroes and saints. At the 
last day we shall be astonished to find how many 
of God's hidden saints had lived amongst us unknown 
and unappreciated. The Searcher of all hearts. 







The Church at Little Chute 



12 THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 

alone, knew the depths of love that dwelt in theirs, 
and the eager, hungry longing, that consumed them 
with a desire to be at rest with Christ. That rugged 
sturdy Wisconsin should have had its saints need not 
surprise us. The descendants of the pioneers, who 
built the first log churches, can tell how their parents 
thought nothing of walking seven, eight, or ten miles 
to church and the same distance back without having 
broken their fast. Many of these, too, were born 
in luxury. 

The herd of this story vouches for the truth of these 
statements in his Note Book. With a simple child- 
like candor he admits of hardships and privations 
that would appall the hearts of the bravest. Those 
who now worship God in the beautifully frescoed 
church with a spire reaching to a height of 175 feet, 
do not forget that the primitive house of worship in 
Little Chute, was a wigwam fifteen feet long and six 
feet high. As a fitting introduction to the life of 
Rev. Father Van den Broek we quote a narrative of 
the Hon. George W. Lawe: 

"I was born at Green Bay, in the year 1810, and, 
probably, am the oldest living native of Wisconsin. 
I can well remember when the British troops under 
Col. Robert Dickinson arrived. The colonel made my 
father's house his headquarters. I also remember 
all the remarkable events that occurred since then. 
My father, Judge John Lawe, was an Englishman, and 
for several years was engaged with his uncle, Jacob 
Franks, in the fur trade. From 1820 to 1846 he was 



THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 13 

the agent for the American Fur Company, at Green 
Bay. 

"In 1 S3 2 I returned from Lowville, New York, 
where I had attended school for four years. It was 
my father's wish that I should assist him in his 
business, consequently, I was continually travelling 
up and down the Fox river trading with the Indians. 

"In 1828 there was quite a village here. The 
Stockbridge and Munsee Indians were on the south 
side of the river; they were well skilled in agricul- 
ture and raised a great quantity of corn, potatoes, 
and grain. In 1832 a contract was made with the 
Chippewa and Pottawattomie Indians by Col. Owen 
at Chicago. The first payment on this contract was 
to be made in the fall of 1834 in Chicago. Then 
a quantity of goods was intrusted to me to sell to 
these Indians. 

"In September of this year, 1834, I started in 
company with Jacob J. Porlier and a Kentuckian, 
Moses Hardwick by name, on horseback from Green 
Bay to Chicago, where our merchandise was to 
arrive from Mackinaw. On the fifth day, we came to 
a place near Waukesha, where a number of Indians 
were holding festivities. An old chief came to me 
just as I sprang from my horse and asked: 

" 'Are you not a son of John Lawe?' 

" 'Yes,' I replied. 

" 'Well,' said he, turning to an old squaw, 'clean 
out this wigwam, for these young men are not used 



14 THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 

to such dirt.' Then to another he said: 'Attend to 
their horses.' 

"After the wigwam was cleared, the chief came 
saying: 'You must partake of our feast, and as you 
will see, we shall give you three courses like the white 
people do.' And sure enough a squaw brought in 
three pans containing bear, deer, and dog meat. 

" 'I will eat some of the venison,' said I, 'but I have 
no appetite for dog meat.' 

"The old Chief laughed, and replied; 'Young 
man, the dog meat is sweet and delicious.' 

"The next morning we continued our journey to 
Chicago, which we reached on the eighth day after 
leaving Green Bay. I remained a whole month in 
Chicago and did good business there. I think I 
brought back with me about five thousand dollars. 
I was almost tempted to invest some of it in land on 
Dearborn street. Colonel Beaubien offered me a 
corner lot for one hundred dollars. The Tribune 
building now stands on this corner. Three years later 
that same corner was sold for eight thousand dollars. 

"In the year 1836, at the cedars, opposite where 
Kimberly now is, an agreement was made with the 
Indians, whereby land extending from Fond du Lac 
to Portage on the Wisconsin river was purchased; 
also the land lying within the boundaries of Brown, 
Oconto, and Winnebago counties. Governor Dodge 
was the land commissioner. There were at least four 
thousand Indians present ; among them the Menom- 
inees, Chippewas, and Winnebagoes. 



THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 15 

"In 1839 I moved with my family from Green Bay 
to Kaukauna. I found living here with their fami- 
lies: Charles A. Grignon and his brother Alexander, 
who traded produce with the Indians for hides; also 
Mr. St. Louis and his family, Joseph Lamure, Paul A. 
Beaubien, and some Germans whose names I do not 
remember. Mr. Beaubien had a new saw and grist 
mill on the south side of the Fox river, arid this was 
very convenient for the settlers. 

"At that time transportation was carried on by 
boats manned by ten or twelve men, who propelled 
them along the river by long poles. John Johnson 
was the first to build a house or hut where the flour- 
ishing city of Appleton now stands. 

"In the year 1843, when I was Indian agent under 
President W. Harrison, I moved the Indians from 
Little Chute to Lake Poygan, and in 1850 they were 
moved again by Colonel Ewing and myself to the 
Keshena Reservation, their present home in Shawano 
County. 

'About the year 1847, Rev. Father Van den Broek, 
Catholic Missionary at Little Chute, went to Holland 
to visit his relatives and friends. When he returned,, 
he brought with him a great many Hollanders, who 
have prospered so well, that they own almost every 
inch of ground in Little Chute. The Hollanders 
have made great improvements here ; the old settlers 
can well remember how wild the region was, with its 
tamarack swamps and morasses, and now the land 
is as fine as the best in the state. 



l6 THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 

"When I came here more than fifty years ago, I 
found a wilderness in the true sense of the word. 
There were no roads and it was impossible to travel 
unless along the so-called Indian trails or footpaths, 
or by water on the river. Green Bay was the 
place where we used to get most of our provisions, 
and I wanted a road opened to Green Bay. I went 
to Mr. Wright, the founder of Wrightstown, who 
lived about five miles from here, to consult with him. 
We were great friends. I asked him to have a ferry 
boat made so that we could bring wagons over the 
river, and thereby reach the military road running 
from Green Bay to Fond du Lac. Mr. Wright 
promised to fulfill my wish, if I would see that a road 
was made from Kaukauna to his place. I was very 
much pleased with my success so far, and hoped soon 
to have a wagon road to Green Bay. The following 
day I visited my neighbor in order to consult him 
about the project, expecting to get help from him; to 
my great astonishment I found him very much 
opposed to such an innovation. He said: 'My father 
lived here for several years without a road to Green 
Bay, he got there very easily either on horseback or 
afoot, and as for me I don't need a road.' This 
rebuff did not make me lose courage. I resolved to 
take counsel with Iyomataw, head chief of the 
Menominee Indians at Little Chute and get help 
from him. He called all the young men of his tribe 
together and held a counsel, I spoke to them saying: 
That seeing they were all good Catholics and that they 



THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 1 7 

had adopted the customs of the white people, I con- 
sidered them citizens of the United States, and they 
would, probably, soon have the right to vote. Now 
since we as good citizens must obey the law of the 
country, and work two days every year on the roads, 
I thought the}" ought to do the same. I then asked 



The Old John Lawe Mansion, now Owned by 
David H. Grignon 



them to help me make a road to Wrightstown, so 
that from there we could get to Green Bay with 
horses and wagon. 

"The old chief Iyomataw then stood up and told 
the Indians that the law must be obeyed, and that 
this road would be of great value. Then the young 
braves answered: 'Yes, we'll do it.' 



l8 THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 

"The next day fifty came to help me, and two 
days later we had a wagon road to Wrightstown. 
The following week, being much elated over our 
first work, we made a ro? i through the woods to 
Appleton. In this age of steam and electricity we 
can form no idea of the value of such a wagon road! 

"I must relate here a little incident of the good old 
times. At that time a contract was to be made with 
the Indians, in order to secure a considerable tract 
of land at the Cedars (southwest from Little Chute) ; 
we had great difficulty in getting them together, 
not that they were opposed to it, but every morning 
the greatest number of them were dead drunk. This 
greatly displeased Governor Dodge, and George Boyd, 
the Indian agent. All efforts to find out where the 
Red Skins got the liquor were in vain, until finally 
one of the interpreters met a drunken Indian at the 
so-called Grand Chute, between Little Chute and 
Appleton. By coaxing and bribes this son of the 
woods let himself be persuaded to show the white 
man where the Indians obtained the whiskey. The 
interpreter went with him* and the informer, who was 
still under the influence of liquor, led him to the 
waterfall. 

"At that time there was no dam on the Fox River, 
but the water in many places had been thrown 
quite high on account of the water pushing against 
the steep rocky bottom in its efforts to empty itself 
into Green Bay. At Grand Chute were some of the 
greatest of these natural dams on the whole stream. 



THEODORE J. VAN DEN BROEK 19 

The rocky bottom rising so high and sharp that one 
could stand under the falling water, without even 
getting wet. It was under this waterfall that the 
liquor dealer had concealed himself with a barrel of 
whiskey, which he had bought at eighteen cents a 
gallon and sold to the Indians at a dollar a pint. 
Now this tapster must have made nearly four hundred 
dollars out of the barrel of whiskey which scarcely 
cost him nine dollars. We made quick work with his 
business, and in a short time the Indians were in a 
condition to lend their attention to the contract. 

"The country then, was full of game and the waters 
teeming with fish that increased almost undisturbed. 
All this is changed, everything now is better for 
civilized man but not for an admirer of free nature." 



II 

FATHER VAN DEN BROEK'S 
NATIVE LAND 

In the preceding chapter we learn from Mr. Lawe's 
narrative that the country round about Little Chute 
was a region of tamarack swamps and morasses. To 
another race of people this might have been an 
insurmountable barrier to its settlement, but to 
Father Van den Broek and his countrymen this 
obstacle was trivial. They were Hollanders and for 
centuries had fought the encroachments of the sea 
until they had become its lord and master. Swamps 
and inundations had no terrors for them. 

Holland, the land of glorious sunsets, the land of 
dikes and windmills, is about one-fourth the size of 
Wisconsin, its greatest dimensions being 195 miles 
long and no miles broad. This country commonly 
called the Netherlands, which means low lands, is 
the lowest country in Europe, for much of it is below 
sea level. Its great enemy is the sea, which, day 
after day, year after year, dashes itself against the 
land only to retreat with a roar of discomfiture. 

To protect their country from the pitiless North Sea, 
the patient Hollanders have raised great walls of 
earth and stone outside of the long low hills of crowded 
sand, called sand dunes, which the wind has heaped 
up along the coast. These dykes must be built high 
21 



2 2 FATHER VAN DEN BROEK S NATIVE LAND 

and strong, as it is very probable that the sea may 
claim some day, what has been wrested from it by 
the industrious plodding Hollander. The West 
Kappel dyke for example is over twelve thousand 
feet long, twenty -three feet high, and thirty -nine feet 
thick. These dykes are made of compact earth with 
here and there heavy stone buttresses ; some portions 
being subjected to great strain, are strengthened by 
plankings of oak and great rocks imported from . 
abroad (for there are no rocks in Holland), and often- 
times faced with concrete. 

" Holland is the creation of the Rhine. This great 
river whose head waters are collected in the Lake of 
Constance and lose themselves in the German Ocean 
by a thousand channels, was for centuries the high- 
way of Western commerce and civilization. As the 
Rhine approaches the borders of the country now 
known collectively as Holland, it begins to divide 
its stream, and the divisions are multiplied at short 
intervals. The flow of its once rapid waters is now 
sluggish. The delta of the Rhine is an accretion 
from the soil which the stream has collected in its 
course. Napoleon Bonaparte laid claim to the 
territory of Holland on the ground that its surface 
was a deposit from the distant regions in which the 
earth was collected, was hurried along by the rapid 
river, and dropped by the sluggish water courses of 
the mouths of the Rhine. 'Now,' he argued, 'the 
uplands are mine by right of conquest. The low- 
lands which owe their existence to the river which I 






FATHER VAN DEN BROEK S NATIVE LAND 23 

have appropriated, are mine by right of devolution.' 
The Conqueror's logic may well be disputed but his 
geology is accurate and incontestable. 

"When Julius Caesar was extending the Roman 
Empire over Northern Gaul and the Western tribes 
of the great Teutonic Race, the greater part of 
modern Holland was an extensive morass, covered 
by almost impenetrable forests. From time to time, 
the barrier which the river was depositing against the 
ocean, was invaded by furious storms, submerging 
the land. The river, however, was building up what 
the sea was occasionally destroying. The earliest 
instincts of the Hollanders were, therefore, directed 
towards the protection of the land against the en- 
croachments of the sea. This land enclosed between 
the two principal arms of the Rhine, was called 
Batavia, and the inhabitants were called Batavians." 1 

The oldest inhabitants of Holland of whom any- 
thing is known were of Celtic origin. In Caesar's, 
day the whole district between the Rhine and the 
Scheldt, was occupied by the Belgae, the bravest of 
the Celts, while the Batavian insula was peopled by a 
part of the Germanic tribe of the Chatti. These two 
races were known as Flemish and Walloon. The 
northern part was occupied .by the free Friesians. 
"Christian teachers formed the first strong bond to 
hold these different races together against the inva- 
sions of the Romans, their common foe. Ireland, 
early christianized by St. Patrick, was one of the 

1. Story of Holland. Rogers. 



24 FATHER VAN DEN BROEK S NATIVE LAND 

earliest centres of light and learning in Western 
Europe. From the Emerald Isle, the missionaries 
crossed over first to the eastward, and taught among 
the Dutchmen in England. These Christian mis- 
sionaries succeeded measurably well. In less than 
two centuries the Christianized Hollanders in England 
sent Irish and Scotch missionaries with their country- 
man Willibrord of Exeter to preach the gospel among 
their kinsmen in Friesland. Without an interpreter or 
needing one, Willibrord spoke to them in their own 
tongue. He was ably assisted by the Irish and 
Scotch missionaries." 1 

Though Holland was in constant danger from the 
ocean, it was from the ocean that she derived her 
wealth and power, and her means for fighting in her 
struggle for independence. For her flag she chose, 
with reason, the symbolic design of a lion struggling 
with the waves, and for her motto "Luctor et emergo" 
■ — I struggle and I rise. Land is gained and held 
there with so much labor, that it is , highly valued 
and every inch receives the utmost care. It is covered 
with a net work of canals used for irrigation and 
transportation. 

Caesar subjugated the Friesians and they remained 
under the sway of the Romans until the 4th Century, 
when they succumbed to the Franks. In the 8th 
century they were subjugated by Charlemagne. 
Charles V of Spain coming into power over the 
Netherlands made the country one of great impor- 



1. Brave Little Holland. Griffis. 



FATHER VAN DEN BROEK S NATIVE LAND 25 

tance, but under his son Philip II, the Dutch began 
a revolt, which lasted for eighty years before the 
Spanish yoke was thrown off. William of Orange 
known as William the Silent was- their deliverer. 
Holland was a power in Europe until 17 13 when she 
began to decline. She was, in fact, one of the greatest 
powers in Europe, her ships were everywhere and 
carried most of the world's trade. Her power was 
crippled by England in the great naval war of 1652-54^ 
and by France under Conde and Turenne in the reign 
of Louis XIV. 

When William III became King of England, he 
protected Holland from France and secured the 
treaty of peace of Nimeguen in 1678. 

During the century which intervened between the 
truce of 1609 and the treaty of Utrecht in 17 13, the 
Dutch occupied the most conspicuous place in Europe. 
They were courted by the rival powers and during 
the devastating wars of the seventeenth century were 
for a long time the centre of European commerce 
and finance. Amsterdam, the principal city, was 
considered the largest and richest in Europe, far sur- 
passing Florence, Genoa, and Venice. The business 
of Europe was transacted on the Amsterdam Ex- 
change, and the warehouses of this city, built on piles 
driven into the swampy soil, were stored with the 
products of the world. In their cities the Dutch were 
carrying on those manufactures of the finest fabrics 
for which Flanders and Italy had once been famous, 
and piling up the spices of the Indies, of which at that 



26 FATHER VAN DEN BROEK's NATIVE LAND 

time they possessed the monopoly. It was the prin- 
cipal trading and manufacturing country in the 
world. 

"It was also the country in which agriculture was 
most thoroughly developed. The Dutch had not, it 
is true, land enough to grow grain for the mainte- 
nance of its densely peopled republic and it was only 
by incessant toil and watchfulness that they kept 
much of their land from being engulfed by the sea. 
As soon as an armistice began and the people had 
rest from war they pumped out Beemster Lake, and 
recovered fully eighteen thousand acres of rich 
meadow land, from what had been a shallow expanse 
of water. Their cattle were the finest in Europe, and 
their dairy products found a ready market in foreign 
countries. Their small farms flourished like gardens. 
They supplied all Europe with the means of gratify- 
ing the fashion, which they had set up, of ornamental 
and domestic agriculture. For a long time they were 
the exporters of all the best garden produce. They 
extended the cultivation of winter roots from the 
garden to the field, and gradually taught European 
nations how to preserve cattle in sound condition 
through the winter and to banish scurvy and leprosy 
by the constant supply of wholesome fresh diet. The 
cultivation of the turnip and the potato, with other 
similar roots, has made it possible that three times as 
many persons can live on the same tract of land, 
where before these discoveries were made starvation 
stared them in the face. 



FATHER VAN DEN BROEK S NATIVE LAND 



2 7 



"After having carried the cultivation of winter 
roots and ornamental gardening to an unparalleled 
pitch of excellence, they devoted themselves to the 
improvement and discovery of the artificial grasses, 
thereby supplying more nutritious fodder and in- 




A Bit of Holland 



creasing their stock of cattle. . They discovered the 
use of clover, red and white sanfoin, lucerne, and 
either improved or naturalized them." 

The Dutch were also as distinguished in literature 
and science as they were in agriculture and manu- 
factures. Holland was called the printing house of 
Europe, and in the seventeenth century published 



28 FATHER VAN DEN BROEK S NATIVE LAND 

more books than all the rest of Europe collectively. 
Before an Englishman had attempted printing or 
engraving there was a prosperous school of both 
these arts in Holland. The University of Ley den en- 
joyed great renown. This university owes its origin 
to the second siege of Ley den by the Spaniards which 
began on the 26th of May, 1574, and lasted till the 3d 
of October. The city endured all the horrors of- 
famine but would not yield. William of Orange 
finally raised the siege by having the dykes cut and 
bringing a fleet of provisions to the starving inhab- 
itants as well as flooding out the Spanish army. 
To commemorate this event, the city of Ley den was 
offered the choice of being made free from taxation 
or to be endowed with a university; she chose the 
latter. Holland was the origin of modern inter- 
national law and of modern physic. It was the 
country from which the best mathematical, nautical, 
and astronomical instruments could be procured. It 
discovered the art of cutting and polishing diamonds 
and for centuries enjoyed a monopoly of this art. 
In fact there was no branch of learning or skill in 
which the Dutch did not excel. 

The eighteenth century, however, was the century 
of Holland's decay. In 1794 the armies of France 
overran Belgium, and the United Provinces became 
the Batavian Republic, paying a large amount for a 
French army. In 1806 Louis Bonaparte was made 
King of Holland, and four years later it was.added to 
the French Empire. On the fall of Napoleon, the 



FATHER VAN DEN BROEK S NATIVE LAND 29 

Orange family were recalled and the Kingdom of 
Netherlands was formed, from which Belgium seceded 
in 1830. 

Holland has large and important possessions in the 
East Indies ; the greater part of the Malay Archipelago 
being under her rule. From 1873 to 1876 an expen- 
sive war was carried on in Acheen on the Island of 
Sumatra. With this exception, Holland has been 
peaceful since the treaty with Belgium in 1839, and 
has made rapid strides in prosperity and wealth. 

The present sovereign is Queen Wilhelmina, 
daughter of William III of Holland, born August 31, 
1880. 

Benjamin Franklin said of brave little Holland: "In 
love of liberty and bravery in defence of it, she has 
been our great example." The first salute in honor 
of the American flag was from the Dutch. Johannes 
de Graeff, at the port of St. Eustachius in the West 
Indies, Nov. 16, 1776, ordered the "honor shots." 
After the States-General had formally recognized the 
United States of America as a nation, the loans by 
the Dutch merchants of fourteen millions of dollars 
came when our country needed it most. 



Ill 

AMSTERDAM 

BIRTHPLACE OF THEODORE J. VAN DEN 

BROEK 

The name Amsterdam or Amsteldam means the 
dam or dyke of the Amstel, a river which flows in a 
northeasterly direction through the city. Amster- 
dam is the largest and most, important town in Hol- 
land, constitutionally its capital, although the resi- 
dence of the sovereign is at The Hague. It is situated 
on the confluence of the Amstel with the Y, a lake-like 
river now mostly drained ; it stands on soft wet ground 
under which at the depth of fifty feet is a bed of sand. 
Into this sand piles are driven on which the buildings 
are reared. This foundation is perfectly secure as 
long as the piles remain under water. 

In the thirteenth century Amsterdam was a small 
fishing village, held in fief by the lords of Amstel, 
together with the surrounding district called Amstel- 
land. Towards the close of the thirteenth century it 
reverted to the Counts of Holland, who . gave it a 
charter and other privileges. It was fortified in 1482, 
and soon rose to be the most important city of the 
Netherlands. The early voyages to India, and the 
union of the seven provinces in 1579, added greatly to 
its prosperity — so much so that it excited the cupidity 
of the earl of Leicester, who made a futile attempt 
31 



2,2 AMSTERDAM 

to surprise it in 1587; and its position was still 
further improved by the peace of Westphalia in 1648, 
which closed the navigation of the Scheldt, and conse- 
quently ruined the trade of Antwerp. Two years 
later, the Stadtholder William II attempted to sur- 
prise it but the bold attitude of the inhabitants and 
the prudence of the Burgermeisters Hoost and Bicker 
frustrated the designs of William as well as of Leices- 
ter. 

Amsterdam suffered so severely in the time of Crom- 
well, that more than 4,000 houses stood tenantless; 
and the French occupation during the First Empire 
inflicted a more permanent injury upon the city 
Since 18 13, however, much of its former commercial 
influence has returned. 

Towards the land, Amsterdam was at one time 
surrounded by a fosse or canal and regularly fortified, 
but its ramparts have been demolished and the 
twenty-eight bastions that formed part of the defences 
are now used as promenades or covered with build- 
ings. Within the city four canals — the Prinsen 
Gracht, Keizers Gracht, Heeren Gracht and the 
Singel — extend in the form of polygonal crescents, 
nearly parallel to each other and to the former fosse ; 
while numerous smaller canals intersect the city in 
every direction, dividing it into about 90 islands with 
290 bridges. Some of these are of stone, but the 
majority are of iron and wood, and constructed so 
as to allow vessels for inland navigation to pass 
through. 



AMSTERDAM 3$ 

The streets in the oldest parts of the town are 
narrow and irregular, but are nowhere without 
pavements or footways. The houses frequently 
present a picturesque sky-line, broken by fantastic 
gables, roofs, chimneys, towers, and turrets of all 
forms and dimensions. Westward of the Amstel 
which passes almost through the centre of the city, 
is the more modern part, where the houses are often 
exceedingly handsome, and the streets broad, planted 
with rows of large trees between the houses and the 
canals. 

Of the public buildings, the principal is the palace, 
an imposing structure, built in 1648 by the architect 
Jacob van Kampen and with stone carvings by the 
celebrated artist Artus Quellinus of Antwerp. It is' 
supported on 13659 piles, is 282 feet long, with a 
breadth of 235 feet, and a height of 116 feet, exclusive 
of a turreted cupola, which rises 66 ft. above the 
main building. It was originally the Stadhuis, but 
was appropriated as a palace by King Louis Napoleon 
in 1808. 

The most remarkable churches are the Oude Kerk 
(Old Church) built about the year 1300; it has a 
chime of bells that plays a different tune every quarter, 
making ninety-six different tunes a day. It has also 
beautifully stained windows and a fine organ, as well 
as monuments to various celebrated Dutchmen, 
including Van Heemskerk, Sweerts, and Van der 
Hulsts. The Nieuwe Kerk (Katharinenkerk) the 
most beautiful of all, where the kings of Holland 



34 AMSTERDAM 

are crowned, dating from 1408, is remarkable for the 
carving of its pulpit, for the elaborate bronze castings 
of its choir, and for the monuments of Admiral De 
Ruyter, the poet Vondel and many other notable 
personages. 

In this quaint and ancient city replete with historic 
landmarks, Theodore John Van den Broek was born 
on the 5th of November, in the year 1783, on Avenue 
de Singel. His father was Abraham Van den Broek, 
his mother, Elizabeth de Meyne. Although having 
but two children, a son and a daughter, his father like 
a second Abraham, did not hesitate to consecrate his 
only son to the service of God. His parents were 
pious, God-fearing people, and although wealthy, it 
did not prevent them from bringing up their children 
in the sanctity of the Catholic religion. 

If we study the history of the Catholic church at 
the period of Theodore's birth we shall find a church 
without an hierarchy, battling its way against the 
inveterate hatred of the Calvinists, the Jansenistic 
schism of Utrecht, and the adverse policy of a hostile 
government. In spite of all these crushing obstacles 
the Catholic Hollander has fought the good fight and 
held his own, true here, also to the motto of his country- 
"I struggle, I rise," he has conquered at last by his 
patience and endurance. In 1853 on the 7th of 
March, Pius IX reestablished the Catholic hierarchy 
in Holland. 

William, Prince of Orange, in 1582, proving false 
to promises previously given, issued an ordinance, 



AMSTERDAM 35 

which was rigorously enforced, proscribing the Catho- 
lic religion. From this time Calvinism was the state 
religion. The Catholics were piteously oppressed, 
down to the present century. During the brief reign 
of Louis Bonaparte, who was appointed king of Hol- 
land by his brother, Emperor Napoleon, the rights of 
Catholics were generally respected. When Holland 
was incorporated with the French Empire, some 
measures of repression, especially against the clergy, 
were issued by Napoleon who was enraged by the 
firmness they displayed in upholding the rights and 
prerogatives of the Holy See. 

William I (i 8 15-1840) revived the old Calvinistic 
bigotry, and did all in his power to retard the growth 
of the Catholic Church in his Dominions. Since the 
secession of Belgium in 1830, however, the Church in 
Holland has enjoyed greater freedom. On the 
restoration of the hierarchy by Pope Pius, Utrecht 
was made an Archbishopric with four suffragan Sees 
at Haarlem, Hertogenbosch, Breda, and Roermund. 
Catholicity at present numbers about one half of the 
entire population. In the year 18 10 only fifteen 
convents existed, but now the religious houses num- 
ber several hundred. 

These statistics show us that at the time of Father 
Van den Broek's birth, Catholicity being proscribed, 
the faithful were being tried in the crucible. How 
well the parents of Theodore Van den Broek stood 
the crucial test, may be inferred from the religious 
training they gave their sainted son. 



3<5 AMSTERDAM 

Among Father Van den Broek's papers was found 
a little religious picture, a memorial of his mother's 
demise ; on the reverse side is printed : 

"Pray for the soul of the departed Elizabeth De 
Meyne, widow of the deceased Abraham Van den 
Broek, who died at Amsterdam, on the 4th of April, 
1844, i n the 8 2d year of her age, buried on the 9th 
from the English Church. She continued in prayer, 
and .loved the place where God's glory dwelleth. 

" 'With great increase of the fear of God she de- 
parted in peace.' Job. XIV, 4. 

"May she rest in peace." 

The encomiums on the death of his mother, as 
printed on the picture, were evidently arranged by 
her son who knew her worth. They are the enco- 
miums of a saint and she died the death of the just. 
While her son was celebrating Mass in the backwoods 
of Wisconsin on Holy Thursday, which happened to be 
the day of her death, at the elevation of the Sacred 
Host, he had a premonition that his mother was 
dying, and it proved only too true. 

From the fact that they left their children 120,000 
florins — at that time no small fortune — it is evident 
that the parents of Rev. Father Van den Broek 
must have been in very good circumstances, if not 
wealthy. 

Father Van den Broek was in early manhood a 
man of prepossessing appearance, five feet ten inches 
in height, well built, but not fleshy, with mild hazel 
eyes, brown hair, fine regular features, polished in 



AMSTERDAM 37 

manner, possessed of a geniality of soul born of the 
spirit of God within him, and a zeal for the glory of 
his' Father's house that conquered all hearts. 

" Of his youth very little is known excepting that 
when he graduated he was master of the Greek, Latin, 
German, French, and Dutch languages. The Domini- 
can Fathers were his parish priests, and admiring 
their edifying example he joined the Dominican 
Order. The Dominican records at Amsterdam show 
that he was at first a Franciscan, but, after having 
obtained the papal dispensation, was received into 
the Dominican Order on the 16th of June, 1817, in 
the church (Stadhuis) van Hoorn, by Rev. Nicolas 
Smits, pastor, and Prior Provincial of the Dominican 
Order in the Netherlands. . He was ordained in 1808, 
evidently in Germany, as Holland, at that time had 
no Bishops. For some time he was assistant priest 
at Groningen where the Dominicans had a church. 

In 1 8 1 9 he was appointed pastor at Alkmaar 
where he remained until the 27th of May, 1830. 
Among the children whom he baptized there was 
Caspar Joseph Martin Bottemanne, who afterwards 
became Bishop of Haarlem. In 1830 he was ap- 
pointed pastor of Tiel where he remained until June, 
1832, when he obtained permission from his Provin- 
cial, Albertus van Kampen, to depart as Missionary 
for America. By a letter dated May 10th, 1832, 
he was appointed to act as novice Master to Rev. 
Louis de Saille, and on their arrival in America, this 
zealous priest who had been a parish priest for ten 



38 AMSTERDAM 

years made his vows and was received into the 
Dominican Order. 

His burning zeal for the salvation of souls led 
Father^Van den Broek while priest at Alkmaar, not- 
withstanding all the cares and labors of a heavy 
parish, to write and publish three large volumes of 
"Sermons on the Sundays and Holydays of the Year." 
In his preface he humbly says: "I have edited these 
sermons not as a guide for older priests but for the 
encouragement of Catholics who cannot attend 
divine services." In these few words he shows him- 
self the true Dominican and like St. Dominic his 
watchword was: "Save souls." This was the spirit 
of the Dominican Order — the salvation of souls — 
this had been his mission in Holland and this was to 
be his mission in America, whether among the un- 
civilized Indians or the emigrants who had wan- 
dered thither. 



IV 

FATHER VAN DEN BROEK'S 
MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

The missionary zeal that impelled Father Van den 
Broek to seek hardships in the New World for the 
salvation of souls was not to be diminished by diffi- 
culties or obstacles thrown in his way. He left no 
means untried to have others join him in the mis- 
sionary field of the wide expanse of North America. 
At that time the dearth of priests was a sore trial to 
the Catholic population scattered over the country. 

Father Van den Broek left Holland in 1832, and 
some weeks later arrived in Baltimore. From Balti- 
more he travelled by rail to Wheeling, from Wheeling 
to Cincinnati by steamboat, from Cincinnati to Louis- 
ville by steamboat, then after a ride of fifteen hours 
he reached his destination — St. Rose Convent,- near 
Springfield, Kentucky — nine weeks after he left 
Antwerp. 

At St. Rose's he prepared himself for missionary 
work, by studying English, and the manners and 
customs of the Americans ; but he was soon called to 
Somerset, Ohio, to St. Joseph's parish, because the 
Germans living there had no priest who knew their 
language. After having remained some time at Som- 
erset he was sent among the Indians. On the way he 
visited Detroit, and after a journey of four hundred 
39 



40 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

and sixty-seven miles he reached the island of Macki- 
nac, and finally on the 4th of July, 1834, arrived at 
Green Bay, where he completed the priest's house 
begun by Father Mazzuchelli. 

One of the young ladies attending the Dominican 
Academy, while Father Van den Broek was at Somer- 
set, was a Miss Meade, who afterwards married Charles 
Grignon, one of the first white settlers around Little 
Chute; when she heard that Father Van den Broek 
was at Green Bay, knowing his zeal for the con- 
version of souls, she sent her husband with a dele- 
gation of Indians to invite him to come to Little 
Chute. He accepted the invitation and promised 
to do so when another priest would take his place at 
Green Bay. _ 

The following valuable letter written in 1843 to a 
Holland newspaper will give us a glimpse of Father 
Van den Broek's arduous labors : 

"Grand Cocalin above Green Bay, Wisconsin Terri- 
tory, North America. 
"Noble Sir and Friend: 

"Since my departure from Holland, I heartily 
wished to hear from time to time, from the Gods- 
dienstvriend, but this was impossible while in the 
wilderness among the unbelieving heathen. It is 
now thirteen years since I visited you for the last time. 
All this time I have been so far separated from 
civilized people to gain new Christians to the Faith, 
that all that has occurred in the Netherlands remained 
unknown to me. 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 41 

"In the beginning my mission was a continual 
journeying to and fro, preaching to the Indians who are 
settled between Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, and 
the Mississippi, called Menominees, Otchipwes, and 
Winnebagos, to convert them to the Faith. Divine 
Providence has so greatly blessed my work that the 
most of them have become good Catholics, and 
might serve as an example to many born in the Faith. 
I do not doubt but many will be pleased to hear of my 
work here. 

"In the year 1832, July 15th, we, seven missionaries, 
sailed from Antwerp to Baltimore. My companions 
were: Rev. Father Van de Weyer, O. P., Fathers 
Lastre, Desseille, Deganquiver, of the diocese of 
Ghent, and two others, laymen. On the 15th of 
August we arrived in Maryland, and remained a 
few days in Baltimore, where we were most kindly 
received and hospitably entertained by Rev. Father 
Delnol. On the feast of St. Rose of Lima, on arriving 
at Cincinnati we learned the sad news of the death of 
Bishop Fenwick, Provincial of. the Friar Preachers. 
While returning from his Apostolic journey through 
Northwestern Michigan to his Episcopal See, he was 
overcome by the cholera and died in a poor hut 
where he was accustomed to lodge. The following 
winter his remains were removed to Cincinnati, and 
buried in the Cathedral which owes its erection to 
him, and from which he died more than 500 miles 
distant. 

"The Vicar General sent us to different places; I 



42 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

departed for our Convent, St. Rose, in Kentucky, the 
others to places far distant from each other. To 
this day I have not seen any of my companions. 
Two of these priests have since died in the holy work 
of missionary life. In the month of October I was 
sent by our Provincial, De Young, to our Convent St. 
Joseph in Somerset, Ohio. Every Sunday I was 
obliged to attend either -Chill icothe, Columbus, Zanes- 
ville or Lancaster, all large towns about one hundred 
or two hundred miles apart, to dispense the means of 
grace to the Germans. In the state of Ohio there are 
more than ten thousand German emigrants, whom 
I had to attend, until the newly consecrated Bishop 
of Detroit, Rt. Rev. F. Rese assured me that I could 
do much more good if I went among the Indians, 
who had no missionaries, much as it was to be desired. 
Rt. Rev. Bishop Purcell of Cincinnati reluctantly gave 
me leave of absence, but thought it a mistake, as the 
vineyard in Michigan was too large and without 
laborers. For this reason I was sent after Easter to 
Detroit in the year 1833. 

"If I were to tell you, Honored Editor, of all the 
dangers to which a missionary is exposed on his 
journeys, I would grow tiresome. I will relate one in- 
cident: One day, between Monroe and Detroit, I 
strayed from the road, seven hours distant from the 
nearest house, my horse sank with me in a marsh; 
all help seemed impossible. Fortunately, however, 
by slipping backwards off the horse I reached solid 
ground. I prayed fervently, full of confidence in 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 43 

Almighty God, and began to call with all my might. 
Beyond all expectation, I heard a voice on the other 
side of the pond, from which I received help, while 
I thought myself far separated from all mankind, as 
I knew the district was not settled. Two men by 
means of trees saved my horse. Without their help 
I should have perished, as these roads are very seldom 
traversed, and wayfarers scarcely ever met with. 
Nevertheless, the missionary must often make use of 
these unfrequented roads to visit his distant Chris- 
tians, and that mostly on horseback as a wagon or 
buggy is not to be thought of. He must frequently 
sleep under the open canopy of heaven, with dry 
bread and water for nourishment. 

"The Bishop of Michigan sent me to Green Bay, to 
the so-called Groene Baay, I arrived there the 4th 
of July, 1834, and found not more than nine or ten 
houses, but many Indians. After I had finished my 
church and parsonage, the number of inhabitants had 
increased to 1,000 in three new villages, Navarino, 
Astor, and Rapides des Peres. The last is so named 
because a swift stream flows there, and also because 
one hundred and fifty years ago (1693) it was a Jesuit 
mission with two Fathers, one of whom was killed by 
the Indians. They chopped the Missionary into pieces 
and, so that he could not rise again, burned the re- 
mains and threw the ashes into the river. 

"On the 6th of December, 1836, the Bishop sent three 
Redemptorist Fathers in my place (Fr. H. Hatscher, 
Simon Sanderl, Jas. Prost, C.S.S. R.) and I betook 



44 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

myself 24 miles higher up the river into the woods, to 
the Indians, at a place called La Petite Chute (Little 
Falls), 'a small waterfall ne'ar Grand Cocalin — an 
Indian name meaning rapids. (In the Chippewa 
language it means the home of the pike — Okakaning 
meaning pike.) An Indian woman at once built me 
a hut or wigwam, about fifteen feet long and six feet 
high, it was finished in half a day. I lived in it from 
Pentecost to October (1837), meanwhile, with the 
Indians, I began to build a church and parsonage. 
For six months the wigwam was both my house and 
my church. My congregation soon increased to 
fifty Christians who heard Mass in the open air; it 
did not take long until the number had reached two 
hundred. You can easily imagine there was no 
dearth of timber here. In the meantime I succeeded, 
with the help of the newly converted, in building a 
church 30 feet long and 22 feet wide without any 
money. The first year, 1837, the church was under 
roof covered with bark. The joists of the floor 
served as benches. The second year, 1838, the floor 
was covered with boards and the roof also. In 1839, 
the congregation had so increased that I was obliged 
to enlarge the church by 20 feet, and we built a tower 
beside it; I had no other altar equipments than an 
old chalice, and some other necessary articles which 
you yourself forwarded. 

"My congregation this year, 1843, numbers six 
hundred souls, and the church is finished. I had the 
happiness of receiving a visit from Bishops Rese, Loras, 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 45 

and Lefevre, the last named is the Administrator for 
Wisconsin; his Episcopal See is five hundred miles 
from here in Detroit, but we hope even in this year, to 
have a Bishop appointed for Wisconsin at Milwaukee, 
barely 80 miles from here. 

"When I came here on my first visit to Milwaukee, 
there were not more than twenty Christians, whose 
pastor I was, and now there are more than four 
thousand, attended to by two priests. The Council 
of sixteen Bishops, led by the Archbishop of Balti- 
more, appointed this year six new Bishops, and we 
are daily expecting their confirmation by the Holy 
See. 

"Last year (1842) Rt. Rev. Bishop Lefevre honored 
me with a visit; with cross and banner my Indians 
went in procession to meet him, and we sang on his 
arrival "Ecce Sacerdos Magnus," and other hymns in 
their language, also the "Veni Creator," etc., till we 
reached the church. The next day seventy received 
the Sacrament of Confirmation. At High Mass all 
sang in their own language the "Kyrie Eleison," 
"Gloria," etc. In the afternoon they sang Vespers, 
likewise in the Indian language, while the Bishop and 
Rev. Father Kundig, a German priest who accompanied 
the Bishop, sang alternately in Latin. You never 
heard finer harmony than the Indians sang in Gre- 
gorian chant. After a sojourn of three days the 
Bishop took his departure, escorted by the Indians in 
the same manner as they had received him. When 
the Bishop gave them his blessing they fired a salute 



46 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

of fifty guns. The Bishop remained standing and 
with tears in his eyes, gave the good people a last 
admonition to remain true to the faith. Wherever 
the Bishop stopped on his confirmation tour, he 
related the good impression that the faith of these 
newly converted had made upon him. Scarcely had 
the Bishop returned to Detroit, than he sent me a 
present of a bell, a beautiful chalice, a thurible and a 
number of other articles. To these he added two 
hundred rosaries, for although the Indians can read, 
the rosary still remains, and rightly so, their favorite 
form of prayer. 

"The Indians come to school to me every day, to 
learn to read and write, as well as the different trades. 
I must often make a journey of two hundred miles to 
visit the Winnebago Indians. Last winter (1842) on 
one of these journeys, I was nearly frozen, because in 
a range of sixty or seventy miles there is not a house 
to be met with. At Fort Winnebago near Portage, 
Wis., I baptized twenty Indians, among them were 
some 90, 100, and no years old. 

"Wisconsin is gradually becoming more and more 
populated ; chiefly by Germans and Irish. Last 
year I built two churches, one is twenty-three miles 
from here, which place I named Trier, because the 
inhabitants came from the bishopric of Trier in 
Prussia ; the other I called Neuen Kirche because the 
settlers came from Coblentz, Maintz, and Neuen 
Kirche. 

"The land on which I live lies on the Fox River; 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 47 

La Petite Chute (Little Falls) is a very pleasant 
place. Where on my arrival was all woods, I can now 
sow one hundred bushels of grain. It is a very 
salubrious and fertile country. All kinds of trees are 
to be found in the woods and some wild fruits. 

"My labor is incredibly great; Sunday forenoon I 
preach in French, English, and German; in the after- 
noon in the Indian language. Moreover I have 
school every day, besides visiting the sick and making 
numberless journeys to distant missions. Neverthe- 
less, I enjoy good health, and everything through 
God's help is easy, although I am in my sixtieth year. 

"Although I could tell you a great deal more, I 
must close, commending myself to your prayers and 
assuring you of mine, I remain 

"Your obedient servant, 
"T. J. Van den Broek 

"Missionary and Pastor." 

The preceding letter speaks volumes, nothing could 
more clearly portray the arduous and saintly life of our 
humble missionary. Without ostentation or circumlo- 
cution, he states in the simplest language, but all the 
more eloquent on account of its simplicity, his daily life. 

He was not content with administering the sacra- 
ments only, to his savage flock, but he would have 
them educated in mind and body, and like his Divine 
Master would himself be their teacher. Can we in the 
present day surrounded with comforts, form an 
adequate idea of the labor that Father Van den Broek 
underwent while teaching these Indians? 



4» MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

He taught them to pray, to read and write, taught 
them to cultivate the ground, taught them to build not 
only a church and parsonage, but homes for them- 
selves; made them in fact self supporting. His red- 
skinned children should be not only educated, but 
cultured; he taught them to sing the praises of 
God in the Gregorian chant, and that in their own 
language of the forest. Could a St. Francis Xavier, a 
St. Francis Assissi, or a St. Dominic have done more? 

His church, his school, and parsonage was for six 
months a wigwam fifteen feet long and six feet high. 

In his note book and in his letters he always speaks 
in the highest praise of his Indian children. Never 
a word of complaint of their wild and often shocking 
traits. He does tell us that their half starved dogs 
often stole the provisions he had stored away in a 
kettle for the next day; but he does not state, that 
on Holydays and Sundays his wigwam was their 
rendezvous. Although they sometimes brought deer or 
fish, they remained feasting until not a mouthful was 
left for their good Father. No, not a word of com- 
plaint. 

The arduous and dangerous journeys of over two 
hundred miles, which he must often make to visit 
his Winnebago Indians and the few distant white 
settlers; his miraculous and hairbreadth escapes 
on these journeys, show that the hand of God guided 
the saintly missionary. No danger, no obstacle 
kept him from visiting his children. Well might he 
say "my labor is incredibly great." Could poor human 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 49 

nature sustain the labors he underwent at this time of 
life without supernatural support from Heaven? In 
the first place to learn the Indian language, to teach 
school all week, to preach four sermons in as many 
different languages on Sunday, was not the work of a 
giant but that of a saint. 

On the occasion of Bishop Lefevre's visit above 
mentioned there was great rejoicing among the 
Indians. They made a reproduction of the first wig- 
wam that served as church, parsonage, and school, and 
the chief arrayed himself in grand Indian costume. 

On Bishop Lefevre's return to Detroit, to show his 
appreciation of his reception by the Indians, he gener- 
ously sent their pastor, for distribution, as previously 
stated, a number of rosaries, altar equipments, and a 
bell. This bell was the first bell in the Fox River 
valley ; it is now in the chapel of the Catholic cemetery 
of Green Bay. Few, perhaps, if any, are aware of its 
historic value. 

Every Saturday evening Father Van den Broek 
rang the bell to call the people to church to pray the 
rosary, and sing the Salve Regina, and the first 
Sunday of every month he held a procession with the 
Blessed Sacrament, around the cemetery. He also 
established a sodality of the Holy Rosary. A list of 
the members is to be found in the church registry of 
1834. In the same register we find that the first 
baptism in Little Chute was Paul Sawanon, the son of 
Comaicin Sawanon and N. Mitamon. The sponsors 
were Paul Ducharm and Ursule Nawapo. 



50 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

The first marriage was Peter Quoquinata and There- 
sia Wahetin. Witnesses: August Caro, and Marga- 
rita Grignon. First burial was Angela, daughter of 
Paul Mawasji, one year old. The first confirmation: 
Oct. 10, 1838, by Rt. Rev. Frederic Rese, Bishop of 
Detroit. 

While attending Green Bay and Little Chute on 
alternate Sundays, Father Van den Broek took special 
care of his Indian tribes; it was he, who introduced 
among the Menominee Indians the celebration of the 
feast of Corpus Christi, a custom which is still held 
yearly with great solemnity at the Keshena reserva- 
tion. 

The year that Father Van den Broek came to Green 
Bay, was the year of the terrible cholera epidemic in 
1834. How graphically he describes this in his note 
book! He says: "At this time the cholera was raging 
so badly, that in many houses three or four were 
down with it at the same time. It often happened 
that while I was attending the sick, sometimes even 
while confessing them, they died at my side, so 
that we could not get enough help to prepare the 
bodies for burial, and I had to bury them myself 
assisted by two Sisters of the Order of St. Clara, who 
were teaching there. They took off the cords which 
were their girdles, and with these we lowered the 
bodies into the grave. While we were visiting the 
sick and burying the dead I was called from far and 
near to others who were dying. This mortal disease 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 51 

was so vehement that human assistance was no 
longer sufficient to help all. 

"An Indian woman, dwelling at a great distance and 
who had lived a vir.tuous life, was stricken with the 
disease. She knew it was impossible for her to 
receive the last Sacraments, but she declared to the 
bystanders around her dying bed, that the Blessed 
Sacrament had been administered to her in a wonder- 
ful manner. They saw her devoutly strike her breast, 
and open her mouth, and after she had given signs of 
receiving Holy Communion die contented and re-" 
joicing. Be this as it may; every one who knew her 
holy life was convinced that she would not tell an 
untruth on her death bed. Many of the recently con- 
verted heathens lived like the first Christians, an 
exemplary life, to the no little shame of those who had 
the grace of being born in Christianity. 

"Their faith and confidence in Almighty God is so 
great, that they firmly believed that their sick would 
surely be healed if they only showed themselves to the 
priest. I, myself, with others, was an eye witness of 
this great faith. At ten o'clock, one night, an Indian 
woman with a dying child came to me, that I should 
make the sign of the cross over the child. I did so, 
immediately the child opened its eyes and was well." 

What humility Father Van den Broek displays in 
his simple account of the dying child restored to life 
by the sign of the cross made by his hand. He claims 
no share in the recovery of the child, but attributes 
all to the wonderful faith of the poor Indian woman. 



52 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

Was not a miracle wrought on this occasion by his 
consecrated hand? Who can doubt it? 

"How singular the ways of God!" The saintly 
Bishop Fenwick while ministering to the cholera 
victims in the northern part of Michigan succumbed 
to this disease in 1832. His life work was ended. 
In 1834, our saintly missionary although ministering 
to the plague stricken and burying the dead was 
spared to work seventeen years longer in the vineyard 
of the Lord. His task was not yet finished. Both 
were Dominicans, and both were imbued with the 
spirit of their holy founder, St. Dominic. 

The Sisters of the Order of St. Clara who assisted 
Father Van den Broek in caring for the cholera 
stricken, were Sisters Clara and Theresa Bourdaloue, 
whom Father Mazzuchelli brought with him in 1833. 
It is to be regretted that we know nothing further of 
these two heroic Religious, but the recording angel 
knows it all and did not forget to write it in the Book 
of Life. 

What a galaxy of hallowed names circle around 
that of Father Van den Broek: Bishop Fenwick, 
Bishop Baraga, Bishop Loras, Bishop Lefevre, Bishop 
ResC, Father Mazzuchelli, Father Kundig. In search- 
ing into the life of one we come upon the saintly lives 
of dozens of others, who sacrificed all, even their lives, 
for Christ. 

While Father Van den Broek attended Green Bay, 
every other Sunday after the missionaries left, often 
traveling the distance, twenty-four miles, on foot 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 53 

and carrying his mission goods with him an incident 
occurred which he relates in his note book: 

"One Holy Saturday that I happened to be at 
Green Bay to celebrate Easter, a traveler called at 
the uninhabited and roomy parsonage where it was 
my custom to stay, and asked for a night's lodging. 
I readily complied with his request, as there were 
very few houses in the neighborhood. About mid- 
night I heard the door of the sacristy open very softly ; 
from a window in my room which joined the sacristy, 
I could see a light burning in it. At first I thought it 
was the man to whom I had given lodging, and that 
out of curiosity he was wandering around at this 
untimely hour; still it seemed strange to me, and I 
called loudly: "Pierre qu 'est ce quetu fais la!" (Peter, 
what are you doing there ?) As soon as the thief heard 
this bold shout, he thought, probably, that there were 
more persons in the house, for he blew out his candle 
immediately. This made me somewhat uneasy. I 
arose and went to the bedroom of my guest whom I 
found quietly sleeping, and who appeared to know 
nothing of what had happened. I wakened him and 
told him that there were thieves in the church, who 
were about to steal the chalice which was in a chest 
in the sacristy; for at the time that I called loudly 
he was in the act of trying the lock. Had I waited 
a moment longer and not frightened him by my loud 
shout, I could not have celebrated Mass on Easter 
Sunday. I sent my guest to a house not far off to 
call help and to ring the bell, but scarcely had he 



54 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

left the parsonage when a voice called to him in 
English: "If you come nearer I'll shoot you dead!" 
Thoroughly frightened he came back and assured 
me that there were three armed men outside, one in 
the church, one at the church door, and one in the 
churchyard. Without any fear and possessed of I 
know not what strength, relying on God, I remained 
in the company of these three murderers, in the par- 
sonage. I again sent my man for help, through a back, 
door; he succeeded in bringing the few neighbors I 
had with him. In the meantime the thieves were busy 
robbing the church of everything ; a silver monstrance, 
a ciborium and ampulla, a silver crucifix. Yes, even 
ornaments that were of no value, but the robbers 
thought them of value because they were gilt. The 
altar had been prettily ornamented for the morrow's 
feast — Easter. I consider it a special favor of provi- 
dence that I was awakened in time to prevent the 
thieves from taking the chalice with them, although 
it was of little value. Scarcely had the day dawned, 
when the people coming from far and near to celebrate 
Easter, beheld the temple of God sacrilegiously robbed 
of everything. Before I- began the celebration of 
Mass, I asked the congregation to beg of God that the 
robbers should be punished according to their deserts 
or, at least, that they should return the treasures they 
had stolen, which I prized greatly on account of their 
antiquity. 

"According to human foresight there did not seem 
to be a possibility of recovering them, but if God 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 



55 



were pleased to hear us, I said, even this would not 
be impossible. I also added that I would offer up Mass 
on the three feast days for that intention. And 
behold! scarcely was the first solemn Mass ended, 
when a gentleman came to the parsonage and assured 




The Monstrance. 



me that three soldiers had been captured, who con- 
fessed to having buried the church ornaments in the 
ground. 

"On Easter Sunday afternoon everything was 
brought back that the thieves had stolen." 

These sacred vessels were old treasures that had 
been dug up at Rapides des Peres which were con- 



56 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

cealed when the missionaries had been massacred by 
the Indians. One hundred, and fifty years ago a 
Jesuit Mission was at this place, but after this occur- 
rence a priest was never again seen there. 

The monstrance is the one described in the "His- 
tory of the Catholic ^Church in Wisconsin," which we 
quote : 

"The oldest historical relic extant is a silver mon- 
strance made in France, which was donated to the 
St. Francis Xavier mission at Green Bay by Governor 
Nicolas Perrot. All doubt as to its claims to antiquity 
is set at rest by the inscription bearing the date 
of 1686 which is to be found on its base. The sacred 
vessel was kept at the mission church at De Pere, 
which was erected by Charles Albanel in 1676. Nearly 
twelve months after the donation of this monstrance 
to the church by Perrot, the structure was burned 
to the ground by a number of pagan Indians." 

In the Wisconsin State Journal of July 22, 1878, we 
find the following description of this monstrance, its 
concealment and ultimate discovery, written by 
M. J. Butler. 

"168 1 is the date of the oldest tombstone in Ply- 
mouth on the hill above the rock where the Pilgrim 
Fathers landed. Wisconsin has a relic as old, wanting 
five years, attesting the presence of European settlers 
within her borders. It is a memorial as indubitably 
genuine as the Massachusetts gravestone, and more 
wonderful for many reasons. 

"This curiosity by a strange good fortune is before 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 57 

me as I write. It is a silver ornament fifteen inches 
high and elaborately wrought. A standard nine 
inches high supports a radiant circlet closed with 
glass on both sides and surmounted with a cross. 
This glass case, accessible by a wicket, was intended to 
contain the sacramental wafer (the Sacred Host) 
when exhibited for popular veneration. The sacred 
utensil is called a 'sOleil'-as resembling in shape the 
solar orb, and also a 'monstrance,' and an 'osten- 
sorium' because used to demonstrate or ostentate the 
Holy Host. 

"The antiquity of the relic before me is beyond 
doubt or cavil. 

"Around the rim of its oval base, I read the following 
inscription in letters, every one of which, though rude, 
is perfectly legible: 'Ce soleil a ete donne par Mr. 
Nicolas Perrot a la mission de St. Francois Xavier 
en la Baye des Puants, 1686.' In English: This 
solary was presented by Mr. Nicolas Perrot to the 
mission of St. Francis Xavier at Green Bay in the year 
1686. 

"Regarding Perrot, the donor of the ostensory, 
little was known of him where it was unearthed. 
But it is now ascertained that he was traversing 
the northwest in 1663, and for a quarter of a century 
thereafter. He was the earliest and ablest of those 
French agents sent west of Lake Michigan to gather 
up fragments of nations scattered by the Iroquois, and 
confederate them under French leadership against 
those inveterate foes of France. His adventures, 



58 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

largely in Wisconsin, he wrote out, not for publication, 
but for the information of' Canadian Governors. 
These Memoirs, laid up in Parisian archives, were 
never printed till 1864, and remain to this day untrans- 
lated. 

"There are four memorials older than the ostenso- 
rium of Perrot, proving the presence of white men in 
Wisconsin, but they are all treasured far beyond its 
borders, and I fear will be for a long time. One is 
the original manuscript of Marquette, detailing his 
journey across Wisconsin and down the Mississippi 
which was written at Green Bay in the winter of 
1673-74. This writing is in the College of St. Mary's 
at Montreal. The second memorial is Joliet's notes 
on the same journey, written on his return to France 
in 1674, and preserved in the seminary of St. Sulpice 
at Paris. The other two are maps both preserved in 
Parisian Archives ; one is of Lake Superior drawn up 
in 167 1 ; the other dating from 1679 shows the Messipi 
from latitude 49 to 42 where the Wisconsin comes in; 
according to an inscription upon it. Some other dated 
native offerings to the La Pointe or Green Bay 
missions even before 1686. may possibly have come to 
light, but aside from such an improbable windfall, 
it seems impossible that any antiquarian discovery 
this side of the prehistoric period, either in Wisconsin, 
or, indeed, out of it, in all the length' and breadth of 
the Mississippi Valley, can ever be made that shall 
rival as a work of art, as a religious relic, and, above 
all, as an historical memorial, the silver ostensorium 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 59 

of Nicolas Perrot. With good reason then, has Wis- 
consin fostered her Historical Society till it is pre- 
eminent throughout the West. It had the most 
precious memorial to enshrine. 

"Fearing that other depredations might be com- 
mitted upon the church property and its other belong- 
ings, the missionaries dug a hole in the ground in 
which they placed the monstrance for safe keeping; 
and here, lost to memory, it was at last discovered in 
the year 1802, and then only by the merest accident. 
The property in which this valuable relic had been se- 
creted had at this time fallen into the possession of a 
family named Grignon. Nearly a quarter of a century 
later, in 1823, a church was erected at or hear to the 
place where the former one had been destroyed, and 
within this sacred edifice the monstrance was again 
used. But a strange fatality seemed to follow this 
particular locality, for again in 1828, the church was 
destroyed by fire. At about this time the monstrance, 
which had in the course of events come into the pos- 
session of Rev. Stephen Badin, was donated by him 
to St. Ann's congregation at Detroit. Ten years later, 
in 1838, the Rev. Father Bonduel purchased this valu- 
able relic for twenty-six fleurs ($13.00), and brought 
it to Green Bay. It was loaned by the Rt. Rev. 
Bishop Krautbauer to the State Historical Society 
at Madison where it is enshrined in a glass case, and 
treasured as the most precious relic of the distin* 
guished society." 

In 1843, ten years after Father Van den Broek's 



60 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

arrival we find six priests in charge of the Territory 
of Wisconsin: Rev. Martin Kuhdig, Rev. J. Morrisey, 
Rev. Florimund Bonduel, Rev. Samuel Mazzuchelli, 
Rev. Augustin Ravaux, and Rev. Theo. J. Van den 
Broek. 

The next year, 1844, in Bishop Hennis' report, 
shortly after his elevation to the Episcopal See of 
Milwaukee, he gave the following interesting account . 

"I arrived at Milwaukee, the See of my Bishopric, 
which is about the same size as the Territory of Wis- 
consin, and which formed the northern part of the 
diocese of Detroit since its establishment. A few 
years ago the present location of Milwaukee Was an 
uncultivated waste, the rich and fecund soil with 
which it abounded being undisturbed by the numerous 
bands of Pottawattomie and Winnebago Indians who 
came from other parts along the lake at stated periods 
to trade their accumulated stock of furs. Finally, 
however, in 1835, a settlement was established at 
Milwaukee, which has grown so rapidly that at the 
present time not less than seven thousand souls are 
living here. As regards the present condition of our 
holy religion, and the possibilities for its future 
advancement, I have not the slightest doubt, after 
having carefully considered the matter in all of its 
peculiar phases, that Wisconsin will maintain its 
prestige in comparison with other states. At any 
rate, we are already ahead of all other religious 
denominations, as of the entire population of seven 
thousand souls, fully two thousand are Catholics. 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 6l 

At the present time a majority of these people are 
living in the southern part of the Territory, near the 
coast of Lake Michigan, and in the west along the 
Mississippi River. 

"Immediately after Pentecost I made my official 
tour through the country. First I went in a south- 
easterly direction to Sac Creek, a distance of about 
forty miles from Milwaukee, where is located 
a large Irish settlement, and then to Racine and 
Southport (Kenosha) rapidly growing villages, whose 
populations are largely Catholic. At the latter 
place I found a large brick church, eighty feet long, 
in course of erection, which building it is understood, 
will be completed and ready for occupation during 
the coming year. The same condition of affairs 
also prevails at Racine, where most of the Catholics, 
as in Burlington, are German. Farther west there 
are Salem, Geneva, and Yorkville settlements, all 
having large Catholic populations, while in each of 
these places chapels have already been built. The 
same can also be said of many other settlements 
lying north and west of Milwaukee for a distance of 
about forty miles. With the exception of Prairie- 
ville and Watertown each of these places is simply 
known by the name of the saint in whose honor the 
church erected there has been dedicated. Thus we 
have St. Mary's, St. Michael's, St. John's, St. Bene- 
dict's, St Boniface's, St. Dominic's and numerous 
others, each of which is known by no other name. 
In a majority of these cases, these settlements are 



62 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

composed entirely of Catholic families, and thus 
pursue their devotions without interference on the 
part of other denominations. 

In the month of June^I visited the Western portion 
of my diocese, on this occasion passing through 
Madison, the seat of our territorial government, which 
is located in Dane county, and about eighty miles 
distant from here. This place is virtually in the 
geographical center of the Territory, and at present 
but very sparsely settled. It is an ideal location, 
being, as it is, surrounded by beautiful lakes and 
other natural conditions which present a handsome 
and interesting view. I expect to establish a church 
here before long, as there are about thirty families 
living in the vicinity, while the unusual attractive- 
ness of the surroundings and the excellent quality of 
the soil inspire in me the belief that this locality will 
soon be thickly settled. West of Madison, along the 
shore of the Wisconsin River, are the so-called Blue 
Mounds, while still further west are lead mines. At 
Mineral Point, the most important settlement in 
Iowa county, I was made the recipient of a number 
of valuable lots, upon which a stone church is already 
in course of erection. This promising condition of 
affairs is largely due to the zealous efforts of the 
recently organized congregation, to which most of- the 
promiment families of the settlement belong. Cath- 
olic fervor is, in fact, very marked here; among the 
recent converts to the Church being a son and a daugh- 
ter of Mr. Dodge, first Governor of Wisconsin who are 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 63 

also educating their children in the Catholic faith. 
In Grant county which is bordered on the west by 
the Mississippi, I found a number of quite extensive 
Catholic settlements. There are also two prosperous 
villages on the Platte River, Platteville and Potosi, the 
location of the latter being at the point where that 
stream empties into the Mississippi. Each of these- 
places has its church, although the congregation- at 
Potosi is certainly the stronger, as besides making 
an addition to the church, the people there have 
recently erected a brick school house. There are also 
churches, in various stages of completion (all of them ' 
will be ready for dedication next summer), at Benton, 
New Diggings, Shullsburg, and Sinsinawa Mound, the 
latter an isolated elevation on the prairie which is 
covered with trees and brush, in fact a second Mount 
Tabor. Should not this charming spot — I thought 
when seeing it for the first time — should not this 
charming spot he dedicated to religion and science? 
And truly, the wish was even then but little short of 
fulfillment, as I have since been notified that the 
Rev. Samuel Mazzuchelli, who has labored for many 
years in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, has already 
secured some 800 acres of land on the south side of 
the mountains. This desirable piece of property 
he purchased of General George W. Jones ex-member 
of Congress, who although a Protestant, favors the 
Catholic religion, his wife and children belonging to 
that faith. 

"Father Mazzuchelli came from Milan, Italy, from 



64 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

which place (to which he had been on a visit) he 
returned in the month of August, last year (1843), well 
provided with means _which enabled him to buy the 
land. He commenced to erect a college on this prop- 
erty, and I can hardly imagine a more suitable 
location for the establishment of an educational insti- 
tution than Sinsinawa Mound. North of here, and 
on the other side of the Wisconsin River is Crawford 
County; its principal settlement, Prairie du Chien, 
wherein is maintained a garrison fort named after the 
county, being on a large and treeless plain at a point 
where the Wisconsin empties into the Mississippi. 
Here a large congregation has been organized, its 
personnel consisting to a great extent of French- 
men and Canadians. A few years ago the Catholics 
of Prairie du Chien began the erection of a stone 
church one hundred feet in length, which building 
I found in an incomplete condition and burdened 
with a debt of $3,000.00. How they could have 
undertaken the erection of such a building I can- 
not understand, for this congregation will never be 
able to pay for it; however, it is such a durable 
as well as imposing structure, that the money will not 
be entirely thrown away. While at Prairie du Chien, 
I confirmed a great number of persons, among them 
were eleven converts. I also preached in the morning 
and afternoon, my congregation consisting of Catho- 
lics, Protestants, and a garrison from the Fort. 
Before taking .my departure, I visited a Winnebago 
chief by the name of Debore. He is a very old man, 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 65 

yet maintains a great amount of vitality and strength. 
Debore, as well as his family and some of the tribe 
are Catholics, and he quite frequently makes a pil- 
grimage to the church at Prairie du Chien, on such 
occasions remaining at the settlement for some time. 
The Bishop of Dubuque is reported to have already 
organized a mission among the Winnebagoes and the 
Sioux. In my diocese there are at present only the 
Chippewas, Menomonees, and Pottawattomies, all of 
whom roam around the country like the gypsies of 
Europe. The Chippewas are situated along the 
shore of Lake Superior, while the Menomonees hunt 
and fish in the territory south of that occupied by the 
Chippewas, and on the Wolf and Fox Rivers, about 
sixty miles from Green Bay. 

"As soon as the Indians heard of my arrival, some 
of them came with their best canoe, in which I was 
transported to Little Chute where Father Van den 
Broek had organized a mission. In our passage up 
the Neenah and Fox Rivers, we passed the Rapids 
des Peres, made memorable nearly a century and a 
half ago through the erection of a chapel by the Jesuits, 
and the martyrdom of some of the missionaries there. 
It was while a milldam was in course of erection at 
this place years after, that several relics of historical 
value such as crucifixes, medals, etc., were unearthed. 

"On arriving at my destination, I found that Father 
Van den Broek had established a congregation of 
Menomonees on the left bank of the Neenah rapids 
where they had cleared a few acres of ground, erected 



66 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

a ehapel and platted a neat little cemetery. In 
company with Father Van den' Broek and four half 
breeds, we now passed up the Fox River and Lake 
Winnebago to the new Indian settlements. It was 
midnight when we came to the western shore of 
Poygan Lake, so we fired a gun to notify the people 
of our arrival, as our guides were unable to locate 
their wigwams among the dark birch woods. It 
was not long before a number of Indians came down 
to the swampy shore, one of the most sturdy of them, 
taking me upon his shoulders, and notwithstanding 
my objections, bore me to dry land. Here, then, for 
the first time I experienced the novelty of establishing 
my episcopal residence in a wigwam, in which soon 
after, upon a couch composed of native mats, I 
obtained some much needed repose. Early in the 
following morning, we returned to our canoe, by 
means of which we journeyed a further distance of 
four miles, which brought us to the center of the 
settlement, where all of the Indians had been notified 
to gather for divine service. This was on the 12th 
of July. 

"Not far from the shore we built a temporary 
chapel of branches, wherein I celebrated Holy Mass. 
Afterwards I addressed the Indians in English, which 
was interpreted for me into the Indian language, 
sentence by sentence. After giving the Episcopal 
Benediction, I left the chapel, and was led to the 
presbyterial wigwam, where I partook of some excel- 
lent refreshments. Soon after, the chiefs, with their 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 67 

attendants, came to call upon me, and after much 
hand shaking they sat down. After a pause, the first 
chief began to speak, making the following requests: 

"1st, That a teacher be sent to instruct their chil- 
dren; 

"2d, That permission be granted them to build a 
chapel ; 

"3d, That an additional missionary be sent to them, 
their present pastor, owing to extreme age, being 
unable to attend the ever-increasing duties of his 
charge. In response I gave them permission to 
erect a chapel in honor of St. Francis Xavier, and I 
also told them I would send an English missionary 
as soon as I could secure the services of one. As 
regards a teacher, I made them acquainted with my 
companion, Joseph Bougler, formerly a teacher at 
Little Chute, suggesting him as an altogether suitable 
person for that position. His services were at once 
accepted, more readily, perhaps owing to the fact that 
his wife belonged to their tribe. 

"At the close of the conference, we entered our 
canoe and began the return journey, being accom- 
panied by thirteen other canoes bearing a number of 
Catholic Indians, who were going with us to Little 
Chute, so that they might receive the Sacrament of 
Confirmation in their old chapel at that place. It 
was on a sultry summer evening that our flotilla 
glided down the small lake and river to Neenah, 
passing over the same course, in fact, taken by Father 
Marquette in 1672 when on his way to Portage, at 



68 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

which place he carried his belongings overland to the 
Wisconsin. Having arrived at our point of destina- 
tion, Butte des Morts, we landed and received a 
friendly welcome from Mr. Grignon, an old Canadian 
courier des bois. I accepted his courteous invitation 
to stay over night at his residence while the Indians 
erected their wigwam and camped between this 
house and the river. Mr. Grignon is a descendant 
of those French who came to this country one hundred 
years ago. 

"The name Butte des Morts has its origin from the 
great massacre, in which a large number of Fox 
Indians were killed by De Lauvigny's expedition. 
These Indians had been committing numerous depre- 
dations along the territory contiguous to the Fox 
River, intercepting caravans, and robbing and killing 
the people accompanying them. As a matter of 
safety, the traders were compelled to resort to heroic 
methods for future protection. After the massacre, 
the bodies of the slain were piled up in one great heap 
and covered with dirt, from which fact the name 
Butt-e des Morts, or 'mound of the dead' is derived. 
On the western end of Lake Superior are living the 
Chippewa Indians among whom Rev. Frederic Baraga 
is expounding the Catholic faith. La Pointe the cen- 
tral settlement of these converted Indians also be- 
longs to my diocese. I had made up my mind to 
visit this place, having, in fact, when at Mackinaw, 
promised the Rev. Father Skolla to do so. A cir- 
cuitous route had, however, been taken in order to 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 69 

reach it, and being unwilling to make the attempt 
alone, I awaited the representatives of the North 
American Fur Company, who, I was informed, would 
go there in August. In order to meet this party, 
therefore, I started at once for Mackinaw but was 
delayed for some time at Green Bay, awaiting the 
arrival of a boat, so that I did not reach my destina- 
tion until August 3rd. There I learned that they 
had already started for Sault Ste. Marie. 

"The following day being Sunday, I arose at four 
o'clock in the morning and said Mass in St. Ann's 
chapel, an historic structure which had been in ex- 
istence since 1690. In this vicinity, too, the mission 
of Michilmackinac, it will be remembered, was estab- 
lished by Father Marquette in 167 1. This, like all the 
old missions in New France, liad suffered severely from 
the constantly changing conditions, and had already 
on several occasions been abandoned. Finally, how- 
ever, Mgr. Fen wick, afterwards first Bishop of Cincin- 
nati, Ohio, came there and by strenuous effort was 
enabled to arouse the few remaining Christians to a 
partial recognition of their*duty to the Church. After 
a brief stay at St. Ann's, I started for Sault Ste. Marie, 
a distance of ninety miles, accompanied by three half 
breeds. Then we passed onward by rapid stages, 
finally, after a weary voyage, arriving at the Apostle 
Islands, and later at Magdalena Island, the most 
southerly among the twenty beautiful islands at this 
place. We landed on the south shore of the lake at 
La Pointe, being welcomed by the two bells of St. 



70 MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 

Joseph's Church, a recognition due to the enthusiasm 
of an Indian squaw, who by signs had notified those 
on shore of the arrival of a Bishop in their midst. 
Father Baraga was overwhelmed with joy, and wel- 
comed me heartily. Arm in arm with him I entered the 
church, which was filled with Indians and half breeds, 
who were waiting to receive the Episcopal Blessing. 
The day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin 
Mary was a great festival for me, as well as for the 
newly converted Indians. Early in the morning these 
people came to the church, -a building sixty feet in 
length and thirty feet in width. At ten o'clock I 
instructed those present concerning the feast, as well 
as regarding the proper observances of this day, 
Father Baraga interpreting my words into the Chip- 
pewa language.' This instruction was continued 
through the afternoon services as a preparation for 
the following day, on which I confirmed one hundred 
and twenty-two grown persons. In the evening 
I was compelled to leave this place, as the "Astor" 
was about to return. This made it impossible for me 
to visit the mission at Fort Williams and at Grand 
Portage, which I much desired to do, while in this 
locality. I received from the Indians dwelling at this 
place the following petition, which was translated by 
Father Baraga: 

" 'La Pointe, August 15, 1844. 
'Our Father, our Great Priest: We let you know that 
we at Grand Portage and at Fort Williams deserve 
your compassion. There are so many here who are 



MISSIONARY LABORS IN AMERICA 71 

Catholics, and so many who would like to espouse 
that religion, yet we cannot go to confession. If we 
see a priest, it is only as he passes by, and he has 
hardly time to baptize our children. As there are so 
many Catholics at Grand Portage we ask for a priest, 
who can always stay with us. Many of our people 
die, yet there is no priest to conduct the services for 
the dead. Indeed we deserve your compassion. We 
will ask you, in the name of God, to send us a priest. 
'We, the wild Indians of Grand Portage." 



V 



FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS 
HOLLAND 

From the arrival of Bishop Henni at the newly 
erected See of Milwaukee in the year 1844, an d the 
increasing number of priests in consequence, the labors 
of Father Van den Broek in the Missionary field 
were not so wide-spread, and therefore he could 
devote more time to his Indian children, and to the 
parish of Little Chute in particular. Here he labored 
with untiring zeal until financial affairs recalled him 
to his native land in 1847. 

In 1842 many German and French settled around 
Kaukauna and Little Chute; the Indians then sold 
their lands to the Government, and migrated to Lake 
Poygan, thirty-six miles southwest of Little Chute. 

Father Van den Broek's object in visiting Holland 
was not only to receive the inheritance left him by 
his mother, but also to induce Hollanders to emigrate 
to America, and settle in Little Chute on the land 
which the Indians had left. This could now be 
purchased of the Government' at ten shillings per acre. 

After obtaining an assistant, Rev. P. J. Mannis 
DArco, 0. P., accompanied by a lay brother named 
Peter, Father Van den Broek prepared for his journey 
to the Netherlands. 

He arrived at his birthplace, Amsterdam, August 
73 



74 FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 

13th, 1847. His mother had died in 1844, and left' 
him 20,000 gulden, and a like sum to his only sister, 
Mrs. Ootmar, a widow. The balance of his mother's 
property was left to relatives, to churches, and to the 
poor. 

During his sojourn with the Indians, Father Van 
den Broek had no regular income but his inheritance, 
which he drew upon to provide for himself and his 
Indians until it had diminished to 10,000 florins. This 
sum he had entrusted to a notary in Amsterdam. 
When he wished to reclaim it to help him in his mis- 
sionary labors he found that the notary had absconded 
with 120,000 gulden, belonging to widows and orphans, 
his own 10,000 florins included. 

Father Van den Broek's plans were, to return to 
Wisconsin as soon as possible., but as the voyage was 
then very difficult to make, he was obliged to spend 
the winter in Europe. He made use of this oppor-" 
tunity to write an account of his sojourn in America 
and also an appeal to his countrymen to emigrate to 
the land of freedom. He portrayed the beauty of the 
country, the fertility of the soil, and the salubrity of 
the climate in such glowing colors, that they responded 
generously to his appeal. Emigrants flocked from 
all parts of Holland in such numbers that he engaged 
three ships to transport them to America. 

The three sailing vessels were the Maria Magda- 
lena, Captain Smith, bound for New York, on which 
Father Van den Broek sailed; the Libra, bound for 



FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 75 

Philadelphia, and the America, on which Father God- 
hart sailed, bound for Boston. 

The vessels did not sail on the same day. The Maria 
Magdalena sailed on the ioth of March and reached 
New York, May ioth. On the 20th of June, the day 
before Pentecost, Father Van den Broek and his party 
reached their destination — Little Chute, Wis. 

The voyage seems to have been a very prosperous 
one. Father Van den Broek had been able to read 
Mass nearly every day. 

After their arrival the Hollanders began to spread 
so that Little Chute did not long remain the only 
place in which the emigrants held the right of emi- 
nent domain over the virgin forests in Wisconsin. 
One of the first of these offshoots was Franciscus 
Busch — now Hollandtown, then others in the vicinity 
of DePere and Bay Settlement, but Little Chute 
remained the center of the Holland emigration. 

A warm tribute to Father Van den Broek 's sanctity 
and labors is given by one of his fellow passengers; 
on board the Maria Magdalena: 

"When we set sail from Rotterdam, a place was 
prepared in the steerage for the erection of an altar. 
Father Van den Broek superintended the work him- 
self. The steerage was divided as follows: on each 
si,de of the ship were bunks in tiers of twos and threes, 
and in the middle was piled the immigrant's baggage. 
Some of this from the back part, right under the cabin, 
was removed and piled elsewhere. In this open 
space an altar was erected, where Father Van den 



76 FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 

Broek celebrated Mass every day provided it was not 
too stormy. 

"On Easter Sunday, 1848, we were in mid-ocean. 
Father had celebrated Mass early that morning; 
between nine and ten o'clock a strong east wind arose 
which increased in velocity and Soon veered to the 
west by northwest. The morning was bright but 
soon became clouded, and we suddenly found our- 
selves in the midst of a fearful storm, which con- 
tinued to rage with a steady increasing fury. On Mon- 
day and Tuesday, all the port holes were closed and 
the decks cleared, the waves dashed over the ship. 
The Captain and crew were all lashed to the deck. 
Towards evening the greatest danger was imminent; 
the cabin boy stated that the Captain had called for 
an ax to cut away the mast in order to save the 
ship. Where was Father Van den Broek during this 
tempest? His room was directly opposite mine — I 
was lying in bed — it was impossible to be up as the 
ship was rocking fearfully, lashed hither and thither 
by the angry waves. Thinking my hour was come, 
I looked around for Father Van den Broek, and beheld 
him kneeling in his room before a crucifix. When 
word came that the Captain was about to cut away 
the mast, he arose instantly, got out of the cabin and 
walked on deck to where the Captain was — notwith- 
standing that every wave swept the vessel, he walked 
firm and unaided, supported undoubtedly by his 
guardian angel — and commanded the Captain to de- 
sist. The Captain, struck speechless by the Father's 



FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 77 

command of authority, stayed his hand, and behold 
the storm began to abate! 

"Captain Smith, of the ship Mary Magdalen, was a 
Protestant and whenever an opportunity offered had 
something to say against either Father Van den 
Broek himself, or the Catholic religion. Being a 
cabin passenger and dining at the same table with 
Father and the Captain, I heard many of their con- 
versations, and very well remember the Captain's 
taunting remarks. Whenever Father Van den Broek 
talked about his wigwam church or his three log 
churches, the Captain said that he could not under- 
stand how he could leave his parish church at Alkmaar 
for a wild country. Father Van den Broek often 
grew indignant at the Captain's insolent remarks, 
but animated with a love of God would reply. 'At the 
last day God will not ask me whether my church was 
a wigwam or a log church. He asks not for churches 
but for souls, and the soul of the poorest Indian living 
in the most miserable wigwam is as dear to him as the 
soul of the greatest sovereign.' 

"How gratefully the Indians returned Father Van 
den Broek's love! I often had occasion to witness 
this after we had arrived at Little Chute and settled 
down among them. Whenever his beloved Indians 
saw him coming they knelt down, waited until he 
passed and had given them his blessing. 

"There was a fine row of pine trees on each side of 
a lane leading to the now main road; in this lane 
Father Van den Broek could be seen daily reading his 



78 FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 

breviary, this was his recreation. How fondly his 
dear Indians watched their saintly father as he walked 
to and fro in this cherished retreat! It was a sight 
to "inspire them with gratitude and love for the priest, 
who had left congenial society and refinement, not to 
say luxury, for sake of their immortal souls. 

"What a pity that those pine trees are not still 
standing to be a natural monument for this great 
and holy man ! Let us hope that they will again be 
planted by the descendants of those pioneers whom 
he transplanted from Holland. 

"It was out of love for his poor Indians that Father 
Van den Broek induced my father to permit me and 
my brother to emigrate with him to Wisconsin. On 
my arrival at Little Chute, young as I was, he em- 
ployed me in- teaching the common branches and the 
Catechism to a number of half-breed Canadians and 
Indians for over a year until I went to Wrightstown 
and engaged in farming. Here again at Father Van 
den Broek's urgent request, in my leisure hours I 
taught the catechism to the Indians and half-breeds, 
of whom there was quite a settlement, and prepared 
them for first communion. 

"Many a time I walked the paths along the Fox 
River from Little Chute to Grand Chute, and from 
Little Chute to Green Bay, from 1848 to 1855. I saw 
the noble river in its natural state. I can point out 
the exact spot of every log house (there were no frame 
houses then), and can point out many places once 
inhabited by pioneers but now no longer here, living 



FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 79 

eight or twelve miles from Little Chute and notwith- 
standing were regular attendants every Sunday and 
Holyday not only at Mass but also at Vespers as well. 
Their names, it is true, were not emblazoned on 
marble or bronze, but the recording angel has inscribed 
them in the Book of Life. God knows the way of the 
Just. 

"After his return from Holland to his. old home in 
Little Chute, Father Van den Broek's once rugged 
constitution began to succumb to the effects of the 
hardships and privations he had to endure in his vast 
field of labor, when he was the only missionary in 
Wisconsin. 

"It was therefore with great joy that he welcomed 
the young missionary Father Daems, who came from 
Holland to assist him. What particularly struck 
Father Daems when he first saw the venerable priest 
was his attire, even more so than the primitive appear- 
ance of his dwelling. On this occasion he wore a 
large straw hat, such as were made by the Canadian 
women, a red flannel shirt, and pantaloons that were 
supported by a belt, while one shoe and a moccasin 
formed the covering for his feet. Father Daems was 
often heard to speak of this occasion, expressing his 
unbounded admiration for the many saintly qualities of 
Father Van den Broek, knowing as he did the opulence 
of his family in the 'Old Land,' and realizing the sacri- 
fices he made for religion and souls in this New Land 
of ours. 

"When Father Daems came to America he was 



8o FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 

accompanied by other Fathers of the Order of the 
Crusade Fathers; among these were Rev. Father 
Nuyts, Rev. W. De Jonge, and Rev. E. W. Verhoeff. 
They brought with them from the Old Country a set 
of Dalmatics. 

"On All Saints Day in the year 1851, a solemn 
High Mass was to be celebrated for the first time in 
Little Chute. Father Van den Broek was to be the 
celebrant, and alas, was also a victim. After Mass 
while preaching on the beauty of heaven and the 
glory of the saints, he was stricken with apoplexy and 
dropped unconscious into the arms of Rev. Father 
Daems. He remained unconscious until the 5th, his 
birthday, when he died the death of the just. His 
burial took place on the 9th, the feast of his patron 
saint. 

"Must we not rejoice at the death of this humble and 
saintly Missionary, called to his reward while girded 
with the armor of the Lord. His last earthly dis- 
course upon the glories of the Blessed, was followed 
by the eternal Alleluias of Heaven. More than a year 
previous he had renounced all of his worldly posses- 
sions into the hands of his ecclesiastical superior, Rt. 
Rev. John Henni, Bishop of Milwaukee, and awaited 
the final call. of his Maker, whom he had served so 
faithfully and well. 

"Father Van den Broek's remains were buried in his 
own churchyard, where later the present stone church 
was erected. At the time of laying the foundation there 
was some doubt as to the exact location of his grave. 




Memorial Tablet to Father Van den Broek. 
in the Church at Little Chute 



82 FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 

In 1894 Rev. Father Knegtel, the present pastor, had 
an excavation made under the church for heating 
apparatus. While the laborers were at work in the 
middle of the church in front of the sanctuary they 
came upon Father Van den Broek's grave — September 
8th, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin. In great 
excitement they ran in haste to inform the pastor. 
He returned with them to -the spot and reverently 
removed the remains to one side. There can be 
no doubt as to the identity of the remains. He was 
the only priest buried there, and with the remains 
were found his beloved rosary, a wax chalice, pieces 
of stole, chasuble, etc. 

Father Van den Broek's life was one of constant 
toil and privation. He was filled with a burning zeal 
to gain souls for Christ, and, as we have seen, he had 
to support himself and his beloved Indians by his 
own labor and income. He wished to make a living 
certain for any who might follow him in the ministry 
at Little Chute, and accordingly left a provision in 
his will to that effect. 

At first his object was to found a monastery of his 
own Order in the wilds of Wisconsin, and for this 
purpose he acquired considerable land. No doubt he 
often saw in imagination, the white robed sons and 
daughters of St. Dominic enjoying the fruits of his 
nineteen years of privation and hardship. Failing in 
this wish of his heart he left his property to the 
Bishop. 

He had every compassion with the poor and needy, 



FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 83 

and was generous to a fault. An instance of this trait 
is recorded in the history of the Catholic Church in 
Wisconsin. 

When the first settlers of New Franken were strug- 
gling to organize a parish and obtain a priest for 
Divine service, Father Rehrl, hearing of this new 
settlement, visited them and said Mass for the first 
time in a log house occupied by one of the families. 
He made the journey on foot carrying the vestments 
on his back. He showed the settlers, the necessity 
of providing the necessary requisites for Divine 
service, upon his next visit, as it was too wearisome 
for him to carry them along with him. The request, 
though in every way proper, implied a task of unusual 
difficulty as New Franken was at that time consid- 
ered at the extreme limits of civilization (ten miles 
from Green Bay), and very far indeed from anyplace 
where such articles could be obtained. Fortunately 
for them, however, there was located at a settlement 
now known as Little Chute, a priest by the name of 
Van den Broek, who had but lately returned from 
Holland (in 1848) bringing with him a number of 
sacred utensils. Hearing of this the late Paul Fox, 
father of the present Bishop of Green Bay, accom- 
panied by John Peter Schauer, called upon Father 
Van den Broek and made known the predicament in 
which they were placed. He responded by presenting 
them with two chasubles and some sacred vessels. At 
the present day a gift of two chasubles and sacred 



84 FATHER VAN DEN BROEK VISITS HOLLAND 

vessels would be a N most magnanimous donation, how 
much greater was it then in the year 1848. 

This is only one instance of Father Van den Broek's 
magnanimity and generosity, but if the voices of 
those whom he assisted could rise from the tomb, they 
would number hundreds, if not thousands, Wisconsin, 
at least, owes his memory a debt of gratitude which 
can never be cancelled. 




Little Chute in 1851 



QUESTIONS 85 



QUESTIONS. 

1. Name some settlements made by the Dutch. 

2. Where is Amsterdam? Why so named? 
What is it noted for? 

3. Where is Holland? For what is it remark- 
able? Who is the present sovereign of Holland? 

4. Give a short sketch of Father Van den Broek's 
life. 

5. Trace his journey from Amsterdam to Little 
Chute. What is the meaning of "Little Chute?" 

6. What Indian tribes did Father Van den Broek 
find in Wisconsin and at Little Chute? 

7. What is the meaning of the word Wisconsin? 

8. - What three towns sprang up about a year 
after Father Van den Broek arrived at Green Bay? 

9. Are any of these a part of Green Bay now? 

10. Describe Father Van den Broek's first church 
in Little Chute. Who built it ? 

11. What did he teach his Indians? 

12. Relate how the Indians received Rt. Rev. 
Bishop LeF&vre on his visit to Little Chute in 1842. 

13. What is Gregorian Chant? Why is it so called? 

14. What did Father Van den Broek cause his 
Indians to do every Saturday evening? 

15. In what religious Order is this a custom? 

16. How many incidents of a miraculous nature 
are mentioned in these memoirs? 

17. What is a miracle? 



86 QUESTIONS • 

1 8. In what year was the cholera in Green Bay? 

19. Who helped Father Van den Broek to bury 
those who died of the cholera? 

20. Where are Father Van den Broek's remains? 

21. Who was Father Mazzuchelli? Where is he 
buried ? 

22. Who was Bishop Fenwick? Relate the- story 
of his death. 

23. Who was Bishop Baraga? Give a short sketch 
of his life. 

24. Where were Father Van den Broek's Indians 
removed to, and by whom? 

25. Of what did Wisconsin form a part? 

26. Who was the first Governor of the great North- 
west ? 

27. How many states were formed out of the 
North West Territory ? When was each admitted into 
the Union? 

28. What was the famous Ordinance of 1787? 

29. What do you know of Nicolas Perrot? 

30. What rivers are mentioned in these memoirs? 
Locate them. 

31. Describe an Indian. Draw a picture of a 
wigwam. 

32. What is the meaning of Rapides des Peres? 

33. What occurred there in 1693? 

34. Who was the first Bishop of Wisconsin? When 
was he consecrated? 

3 5 . How many Bishops has Wisconsin now ? Name 
them, 

LOFC. 



87 



36. What is a Monstrance? 

37. Where is the Monstrance mentioned in this 
book now kept? Why? 

38. Relate the history of the St. Francis Mission. 
By whom and when was it founded? 

NOTES. 

"At St. Francis Xavier, Nicolas Perrot, first Gover- 
nor of the great Northwest, made his headquarters. 
Perrot held his commission from LeFebvre de la Barre, 
Governor of New France, and the power vested in 




him was absolute. He was a shrewd intelligent man, 
a courieur de bois of the best type, trained by the 
Jesuits and a devoted servant of the Church. With 
the Indians he exhibited keen insight and compre- 



hension. He trapped them in their own wily fashion, 
and confounded them with what they regarded as 
supernatural knowledge. It was at times desper- 
ately dangerous work, but during his administration, 
Perrot held successfully for New France the territory 
from Mackinack to the Mississippi River and gained 
the respect and confidence of his Indian Allies." 
— Old Green Bay. 

"On the second day of December 1669, Claude 
Allouez, Priest of the Society of Jesus, landed at the 
extremity of Green Bay. He passed the winter in 
this vicinity, and when spring opened made a canoe 
trip up the Outagamie River, which took its name 
from the brave dominant tribe of Outagamies or Fox 
Indians. At a point just below the last dash of 
rapids, where the river foams over its rocky bed before 
it sweeps on its five mile course to the Bay, Pere 
Allouez decided to erect his mission house. 

"It was a central point from which to carry on the 
work of evangelization, for all along the Fox-Wiscon- 
sin waterways, and on the Bay shore, was massed a 
great aggregation of Indian humanity, Algonquins 
driven westward by their fierce enemies the Iroquois, 
to this safe retreat. 

"In the summer of 1670, the mission house was built 
of rough bark, after the Indian mode of construction. 
This structure was superseded later by a more sub- 
stantial one of timber with surrounding stockade." 
— Old Green Bay. 

Most Rev. Edward D. Fenwick was born in St. 



NOTES 89 

Mary's county, Maryland, in 1768; educated at the 
College of Bornheim in Belgium, and after ordination 
became a professor in the college. He was driven 
from Belgium by the French Revolutionists, and re- 
turned to America. Having become a Dominican in 
Belgium, and being desirous of founding a province 
of the order, he went to Kentucky in 1806, where he 
bought a farm and built the convent of St. Rose of 
Lima. He resigned the office of Provincial later, 
became a missionary in Ohio, and built the first church 
in Cincinnati in 1819. He was made bishop of Cin- 
cinnati in 1822. While returning from his apostolic 
journey through northwestern Michigan to his Epis- 
copal See, he was overcome by the cholera and died at 
Wooster, Ohio, Sept. 26th, 1832. Bishop Baraga 
pays a noble tribute to his memory ; he compares him 
to St. Francis de Sales, on account of his affable and 
saintly disposition. He says: " One cannot imagine a 
more humble, kind, pious and zealous Prelate than 
Bishop Fenwick." 

The Rt. Rev. Frederic Baraga was born in Austria 
in 1 797. His family was an old and highly respected one, 
and relatives of Marquettes' first bishop still reside in 
Treffen Castle, where he was born. He studied at the 
University of Vienna, and displayed great linguistic 
powers, as well as an exemplary piety. He was or- 
dained Sept. 21, 1823, at Laibach. A burning zeal 
for the conversion of souls led him to the great 
missionary field in North America, among the Indians. 
After eight years of parish work, having obtained his 



go NOTES 

exeat from the Rt. Rev. Bishop of Laibach, he was 
admitted into the diocese of Cincinnati, where he 
arrived, Jan. 18, 1831. He remained at Cincinnati 
seminary long enough to learn the rudiments of the 
languages he must use in his new field of labor. 

He began his labors at Arbre Croche (now Harbor 
Springs) in the lower peninsula of Michigan. The 
mission became the rallying point of the Ottawas for 
many miles around. In thirty months he had mas- 
tered the Ottawa and Chippewa languages. He pub- 
lished an Otchipwe grammar in 1850, a dictionary in 
1853, both reprinted in Canada in 1878, and prayer 
books in Ottawa and Chippewa in 1832, 1837, 1842 
and 1846 ; a Life of Christ in Chippewa in 1837 ; Bible 
Extracts, Catholic Christian Meditations in Chippewa 
in 1850, and even issued pastoral letters in Chippewa. 
He also wrote several works in the Slav and German 
languages. He was consecrated Bishop of Marquette, 
Michigan in 1853. After a lingering illness of over a 
year, this saintly prelate died the death of the just, 
Jan. 19, 1868. — Verwyst. 

Rt. Rev. Peter Paul Lefevre, was born at Roulers, 
m the diocese of Bruges, April 30, 1804. After a 
classical course in his own Belgian province of West 
Flanders he studied theology at Paris, and came to 
the United States in 1828 and was ordained by Bishop 
Rosati at St. Louis in 183 1 . For nine years he labored 
in the northern part of Missouri and built several 
churches. In 1840 he attended the Fourth Provincial 
Council at Baltimore as theologian of the Bishop of 



NOTES 9T 

Vincennes, and subsequently visited Europe to appeal 
for aid for the missions. He was consecrated coad- 
jutor to Bishop Rese of Detroit by Bishop Kenrick in 
Philadelphia, November 21, 1841. 

Bishop Lefevre was anxious to establish in Europe 
a seminary that would train candidates for the Ameri- 
can mission. The project was not generally supported, 
but he persevered, and with the aid of the great Bishop 
Spaulding, of Louisville, was able to see his plan car- 
ried into operation by the establishment of the Ameri- 
can College at Louvain, which has furnished so many 
excellent priests. After taking part in the consecra- 
tion of Bishop Mrak, February 7, 1869, Dr. Lefevre 
was taken sick, and died on the 4th of March. 
During his long and able direction of the church in 
Michigan, Catholicity had grown rapidly in the south- 
ern peninsula, so that he left eighty churches with 
eighty-eight priests in place of the twenty churches 
and seventeen priests that he found on his arrival. — 
/. G. Shea. 

John Martin Henni, was born in Obersaxen, in the 
•Swiss canton of the Grisons in the year 1805. After 
studying at St. Gall and Luzerne he proceeded to 
Rome to complete his theological studies ; there he and 
another young Swiss, Martin Kundig, moved by the 
appeal of Bishop Fenwick, of Cincinnati, for priests to 
aid him, volunteered to join his diocese. They arrived 
in Baltimore in 1829, and, completing their theology 
in the seminary at Bardstown, were ordained by 
Bishop Fenwick, February 2, 1829. The Rev. Mr. 



92 NOTES 

Henni took charge of the Germans in Cincinnati, and 
also taught philosophy in the Athenaeum. His next 
field of labor was in northern Ohio, extending from 
Canton to Lake Erie. Bishop Purcell recalled him to 
Cincinnati in 1834 and made him vicar-general, and 
pastor of Holy Trinity. He established in 1837, the 
Wahrheits Freund, the first German Catholic paper in 
the United States. He was appointed Bishop of Mil- 
waukee in 1844, and consecrated March 19 the same 
year by Archbishop Purcell, assisted by Bishops Miles 
and O'Connor. The diocese of Milwaukee was just 
the field for his zeal. The only church in his episco- 
pal city was a frame building thirty feet by forty in 
size. Indeed Mass had been said for the first time 
in Milwaukee only seven years before in the house of 
Solomon Juneau. A stone church had been begun at 
Prairie du Chien, but the few other churches in the 
diocese were log structures, and the Catholics, esti- 
mated at from eight to ten thousand, had only five 
priests to attend them. Bishop Henni found his old 
friend, Rev. Mr. Kundig at Milwaukee. In the same 
year of his arrival he opened a little theological semi- 
nary under the direction of Rev. Michael Heiss and 
Dr. Joseph Salzmann. In 1855, he laid the corner 
stone of the Salesianum. In 1875, he was created 
archbishop, giving him as suffragans, the bishops of 
Green Bay, La Crosse, Marquette and St. Paul. 

On the 14th of March, 1880, the Rt. Rev. Dr. Heiss 
was made coadjutor and relieved Archbishop Henni 
of -much of the care of the administration. The aged 



NOTES 93 

archbishop soon became too weak to perform any offi- 
cial act, though he retained all his faculties. He died 
on the 7th of September, 1881, at half-past eleven, 
having received the sacraments in full possession of 
his senses. — /. G. Shea. 

Rev. Samuel C. Mazzuchelli, O. P., was born in 
Milan, Italy, November 4, 1806. He received the 
Dominican habit in 1823, taking the name of Brother 
Augustine, and made his solemn profession as a Domin- 
ican religious at Faenza, December 6, 1824. He was 
then sent to Santa Sabina, the Dominican Monastery 
in Rome to continue his studies. Here came also Rt. 
Rev E. Fenwick, 0. P., seeking laborers for the great 
Northwest, and becoming interested in Brother 
Augustine, begged the Master General to permit the 
zealous young man to become a missionary in the 
Diocese of' Cincinnati. Permission was granted and 
he arrived in America November 14, 1828. In Sep- 
tember, 1830, he was ordained in Cincinnati by Rt. 
Rev. E. Fenwick. In October of the same year, the 
Bishop sent him as a missionary to the Island of 
Mackinac, Michigan. From there at stated times he 
travelled to the missions of Green Bay and Prairie du 
Chien. 

In 1836, his field of labor was changed to the west- 
ern part of the territory of Wisconsin. In 1843 he 
visited his native city, Milan, and the next year 
returned to the United States with funds which en- 
abled him to purchase the Sinsiniwa property. 

Here he established in 1845, with permission of the 



04. NOTES 

Holy See, a Dominican missionary house and college ; 
in 1849 this property was tranferred to the Dominican 
Fathers of St. Rose, Kentucky, and Father Mazzuchelli 
again took up missionary work at Benton, New Dig- 
gins, and neighboring towns, besides teaching in St. 
Clara's Academy, which he had founded. 

On February 16, 1865, while returning from a sick 
call he was taken with a chill which developed into 
pleuro pneumonia; on the morning of the 23d he de- 
parted with joy to his heavenly home. — Golden Bells 
in Convent Towers 



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